Broken Soul
by undertheclouds
Summary: Alaina is new in Forks, but is hiding the true reason that she came. When she befriends Bella, she gets more than what she asks for with a certain group of vampires. I guess it's against her luck to have a quiet life.
1. Chapter One

Hello everyone! Before we start, there are a few items that I want to get out of the way. This is my passion project. Twilight is the guiltiest of pleasures for me. I'm using this platform to work on true character development. I write FF by adding another character and researching and hypothesizing how canon characters will adjust course. There are a few changes that I've made in the story as well, which you will see as we progress. I had to shift the timeline just slightly to fit my plot, and it follows the book not the movie. Currently rated T, may move to M.

Disclaimer: This is a work of fan fiction using characters and locations from the Twilight world, which is owned by Stephanie Meyer. I do not claim ownership of the characters and words that I am borrowing. All characters, with the exception of the protagonist, and created and owned by Stephanie Meyer.

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The air was crisp, almost bright despite the gloomy grey clouds that perched as vigilant sentinels across the crowded sky. Alaina hadn't been here long, but it seemed as though a never-ending stream of gloominess encompassed Forks, Washington, but if she was being honest, Alaina didn't mind. She'd always loved the chilly, cloudy days of Autumn in the Midwest, and even though it was February, it felt just like October at home.

 _Home_. The thought sent a pang through Alaina's chest with intense longing. The weather may have reminded her of the bustling streets alive with the highs and lows of humanity, but the similarities ended there.

God, she missed Detroit.

The tangy smell of diesel announced the arrival of the bus before Alaina was actually able to see it and she couldn't help but scrunch her nose in disgust. She didn't know why, but something about busses made her motion sick before even sitting down on the uncomfortable seats.

The dirty yellow bus slowed to a squeaking stop, the doors catching and jolting as they slid open. The driver looked down with a kind smile.

"Good morning!" The bus driver said, giving a short nod in greeting.

Alaina flashed him a nervous smile before heading inside. Luckily, there were only a few other students sprinkled around, so it was easy to find a spot near the back to sit by herself. Swinging her backpack off her shoulders and onto the empty space beside her, Alaina scooted close to the window and placed her forehead against the cold, frosted glass.

Sighing, she closed her eyes, willing her heart rate back to normal as it had immediately started to pick up pace as she felt the driver shift gears and jerkily resume its route. The acid in her stomach began to creep up, and Alaina took a shaky deep breath. She wasn't positive if all this was a result of motion sickness or her nerves getting the better of her. Seeing as she was on her way to a new school in a new town in the middle of the school year, she strongly suspected the latter. Either way, she was miserable.

The feeling of dread that had settled in the pit of her stomach since the moment she had woken up had not eased in the slightest. This was all wrong. It had started with waking up in the wrong bed, in the wrong room that was the wrong color. Even the smell was wrong. Now she was headed to the wrong school, surrounded by strangers in the wrong town.

Alaina spent the entirety of the bus ride taking deep breaths, and adjusting her forehead to a new cool spot on the window once she had warmed the glass too much for her liking. The occasional jerky stops and starts as the driver completed his rounds picking up the small handful of students did little to settle her stomach and Alaina did her best to ignore the increasingly noisy chatter that started up around her. She caught more than a few students giving her curious looks as they entered the bus, but Alaina ignored this as well, doing everything she could to avoid making eye contact and praying fervently that everyone would just leave her alone. Alaina didn't know if it was because she craved her solitude, or the other students - consisting primarily of freshmen - were too hesitant to approach someone who was so clearly an upper classman, but it worked, and they blissfully left her alone.

She knew she stood out, even beyond her obvious status as a new kid. This was the kind of town that was full of All-American kids with All-American families, with their All-American dog living in a house behind an All-American white picket fence. Alaina, with her thick brown hair and thick hips and deep set eyes that easily gave away her immigrant roots was obviously...not.

"Have a good day everyone!"

The bus driver's cheery voice broke Alaina out of her silent misery and she blinked as she looked around. She was the last one on the bus, and the kindly man was looking at her expectantly. Heaving a giant sigh, Alaina gathered her things and leveraged herself heavily to her feet.

"Watch your step," the driver intoned. Alaina gave him a weak smile before dropping down the last step onto the wet pavement.

Even the day was wrong. Who starts a new school on leap year? Starting your new life on a day that barely exists seemed like a bad omen. She didn't want to be here. She didn't want to have to try and make new friends. She didn't want to deal with any of this.

It was still raining so Alaina threw the hood of her gray zip up over her hair. She hoped that she was projecting a sufficient "I don't give a shit" vibe to make an adequate first impression to be left alone, but no one seemed to be paying much attention. As she maneuvered through the school parking lot, a large red truck caught her eye. It felt like an accident, something so bright and commanding so much attention in a town that was so dull.

Too soon, Alaina heard a bell ringing in the distance so she picked up her pace, bounding up the stairs to the school that were still slick from the never ending rain. She lost her footing on the last step and stumbled, trying to catch her balance.

"Watch it!"

Alaina was just able to grasp the slick handrail before her knees collided with concrete. _Awesome. Off to a great start._

"You ok?"

Alaina turned to find a tall boy jogging towards her, his letterman jacket glistening with moisture and collecting in his shaggy blond hair. There was concern in his eyes, but a boyish grin spread across his face once their eyes met.

"Uh...Yeah, I'm fine." Alaina said, nervously wiping her damp hands on her black jeans before pointlessly adjusting the strap on her shoulder. "Slipped."

The boy nodded with a smile before gesturing for Alaina to continue, using his long legs to easily keep pace as she quickly darted away. Once they reached the squat gray building in front of them, he opened up the door, waiting patiently for Alaina to walk through before following her inside. The courteous gesture made Alaina strangely uncomfortable. Her plan to slip through this wrong day in quiet anonymity was not getting off to a good start.

"You're new."

He could have worded it like a question but she supposed there really wasn't a point. This seemed like the kind of place where everyone knew everyone and if he didn't recognize her, there could only be one reason. Alaina considered ignoring him, but decided that it would be best not to be overtly rude. However, he noticed her hesitation, and his brow furrowed.

Accepting that there was no way out of the conversation, Alaina sighed, reaching up to free her hair from where she had tucked it in her hood.

"You caught me."

The boy smiled at her sarcasm before switching his bag to the other shoulder to free his right hand. "Mike Newton," He said, holding it out for a handshake. A handshake? Oh man, she really wasn't in Kansas anymore. Alaina took the outstretched hand and was momentarily surprised by the firm grip that met hers. "Alaina Pawlowska."

Alaina retrieved her hand and continued walking, Mike trailing close behind as she followed the sign for the main office.

"Russian?"

"Polish," Alaina answered absently, frowning as she scanned the tiny door plaques for the one that would save her from further interaction. It's not that Mike wasn't nice; he really, really was. But that sick feeling from earlier hadn't quite dissipated, and she wasn't really ready to delve head on into the schools social aspect. "I know. It's weird."

"Hey. No. It's cool. Interesting." Mike replied with a laugh. "It's better than Newton. How boring is that?"

Alaina shifted her backpack on her shoulder, trying not to squirm in her discomfort. The attention was unnerving. It almost seemed as though he was… flirting? Alaina dismissed the notion almost the same second it came to her. She knew better. Boy's weren't interested in her. Only time they were is if they wanted something. The thought and the accompanying ghost of memories made her shudder. Alaina spotted the door she was looking for with a wave of relief and slowed to a stop. Mike was still looking at her expectantly, so she awkwardly cleared her throat and pointed to the door.

"Is this the main office?" she asked. Mike blinked, seemingly a little confused by the abrupt change in subject. He glanced at the door before nodding his head.

"Cool, thanks. I'm going to get my schedule. I'll see you around?" She was already half way through the door before she finished her sentence, unable to hear his reply as the door closed just as he was opening his mouth. Leaning heavily against the door, Alaina rested her head back and closed her eyes. _This attention isn't permanent. You're shiny. You're new. It'll fade._

"Ms. Pawlowska?" The receptionist asked, causing Alaina to jump at the sound. A short haired and plump brunette seated behind the desk surveyed her over a pair of thin reading glasses, holding a folder of papers expectantly. Alaina cleared her throat and pushed herself away from the door, nodding as she neared the desk.

The older lady smiled at the confirmation. "Welcome to Fork's High. We are very happy to have you."

The woman stood behind the desk and offered her hand for another handshake. Formalities completed, she began pulling papers out of the folder in her hands. "My name is Mrs. Cole and I am the office secretary. Please feel free to come in and ask any questions you may have, though I'm sure the other students and teachers would be more than happy to lend a helping hand." She handed over a sheet of paper. "Here is your class schedule" and pointed to another she had placed on the desk, "and this is a map of the school. You'll see each building marked on the map and there will be a number hanging above each of the main entrances. Easy enough?"

Her smile was genuine, and Alaina tried to return it earnestly, however the expression felt a little odd on her face. She _really_ didn't want to be here, but at least the people were nice, albeit quite fond of handshakes. For a moment, Alaina allowed herself to consider that maybe this wouldn't be as bad as she thought. Maybe she was being a little bit dramatic…

"Easy enough," she agreed, taking the papers from her. "Thank you."

"Just doing my job" Mrs. Cole said with a friendly wink. Alaina's smile came a little easier this time. She held up her hand in an awkward wave and turned to walk out before Mrs. Cole's voice stopped her. "Oh. Honey. Don't forget. Please have each of your teacher's sign your schedule and return it to me at the end of the day."

Alaina nodded in confirmation. "Uh. Yeah. Okay."

"Alaina?"

Alaina paused with her hand on the door knob, looking over her shoulder in question.

"You're going to be just fine, honey. First day's are always hard, but we're a friendly bunch. Don't worry too much."

This time, Alaina's smile was full and genuine, the older woman's words having put her much more at ease than she had expected. The knot in her stomach loosened just a little and she was able to take a much needed free breath of air.

"Thank you Mrs. Cole." Alaina said, turning the handle and slipping through with a final wave before closing the door behind her.

Alaina studied the papers in her hand, noting her locker number and combination scribbled in neat cursive at the top of her schedule. Looking around, she was able to gather that it was close, and was ultimately able to find it with ease. There were still a few students shuffling around the hallways and while she received a healthy amount of curious glances and heard a few whispers, no one tried to talk to her, and for that she was extremely grateful. Alaina managed to open her locker on the second attempt and frowned a little at the way the stubborn door seemed to catch and creak as it opened. Noticing just how much the crowd around her had thinned, Alaina hastily shoved her wet jacket into the steel cage and winced at the loud crash it made when she swung it closed.

The feeling of peace and acceptance dissipated quickly as she made her way to her first class, the nerves of being the "new kid" returning with a vengeance. At least it was AP English. English had always been her favorite subject back home, so it was nice to at least be starting her day in familiar territory.

 _Home_. The wave of acid in her stomach returned with a vengeance and churned sickeningly.

Alaina tentatively opened the door to the classroom that matched the number on her schedule just as the second bell rang through the tinny speaker in the corner. Everyone else was already seated, and the loud chatter quieted considerably as she slipped through the door. Before she could really get her bearings, a loud and excited voice boomed out, making Alaina jump comically. More than a few students giggled.

"Good morning! You must be Elaine!"

A short and round woman vaguely resembling a beetle flooded Alaina's field of vision, wrapping her pudgy arms around Alaina's shoulders in a hug. Alaina stiffened in surprise, not expecting contact. She awkwardly lifted one arm and sort of patted the shoulder of the short woman in front of her, sighing in relief when she finally stepped away.

"Uh. It's Alaina," she quietly corrected.

The smaller woman nodded her head enthusiastically, her kind eyes hidden behind large blue glasses. She _really_ looked like a beetle.

"Alaina, Alaina, Alaina. I'm so sorry. Won't happen again. My names Mrs. Crawford, and this-", she pulled an old and tattered copy of a book off her desk and dramatically handed it over, "- is _Wuthering Heights_. We're just starting it, so you shouldn't have too much trouble catching up. Unless you've already read it…" The baubles on Mrs. Crawford's scarf jingled with the woman's enthusiastic movements, the sound as loud and distracting as the woman herself.

Alaina shifted her weight nervously, uncomfortable with being the center of attention for so long.

"Um. yeah. I studied it already at my old school."

"Excellent!" Mrs. Crawford exclaimed, causing Alaina again, to jump. The other students in the class started to giggle again, but she saw more than one pair of sympathetic eyes when she chanced a glance around the room.

"I expect you will have no problem jumping right into classwork then." Mrs. Crawford grasped Alaina by the shoulders and gently steered to her towards an empty seat in the back of the room.

"This will be your assigned seat for the time being."

Alaina struggled to keep from stumbling with the eccentric women's movements and couldn't help but sigh in relief when she scuttled quickly back to the front of the room. "Uh… Thank you," Alaina mumbled, removing her backpack and swiftly dropping into her seat and dusting off the copy of the book still held in her hands. With Crawford's bubbly personality and colorful scarf, Alaina was surprised to see a teacher like this in an English class. She seemed like the type that would be much more at home in something like Art, or…. Art. Perhaps theatre? No. _Definitely_ art.

The eyes that had followed her to her chair slowly began to return to the front of the class, and Alaina opened her bag to remove a notebook and pen before carefully hanging her backpack on the back of her chair.

"Alright everyone! Please get out your books. You should have-"

The door the classroom opened again and Crawford paused, looking over at the newcomer with mild annoyance. Standing in the doorway was a boy that looked so out of place, Alaina felt herself blanch, quietly gasping at the sight. He was tall and lean with honey blond hair falling in soft waves over his forehead, hanging slightly in eyes that Alaina could tell - even from this distance - were a deep and unnatural amber, set in a face that was so unnaturally perfect, Alaina's mind struggled with the possibility that he was even real. His skin was so pale, it almost seemed to glow in the harsh lights of the classroom, standing out in stark contrast to the simple black V-neck and dark jeans that were riding fashionably low on his hips.

He was, quite simply, the most gorgeous person Alaina had ever seen.

The boy looked around and seemed to stiffen, his back going ramrod straight and his face contorting in what looked like pain.

"Thank you for joining us Mr. Hale. Please take a seat."

The boy didn't acknowledge Mrs. Crawford's clipped tone, however, he did proceed to walk stiffly towards the back of the class. Alaina felt her heart rate pick up as he made his way over, and as if in answer, he sharply lifted his head and their eyes locked. If anything, the pained look in his eyes intensified.

"Hey, you're the new girl, right?"

A bright voice, inexplicably close, tore Alaina out of her trance and she jumped, whipping her head around and almost colliding her nose with that of the girl next to her, leaning heavily out of her chair and into Alaina's space.

"What? Oh, umm, yes. Alaina."

The other girl brightened at the introduction, before leaning back into her desk. She was bright and cute in a girl-next-door kind of way, her long light brown hair held back in a thick hair band. Good old All-American Forks indeed.

"Hi! I'm Jessica! It's _so_ nice to meet you. I had heard that there was a new student in school. It's really awesome that you are in my first class. I thought I was going to have to wait forever to meet you. There are so many new people coming to Forks. Isn't that wild?"

Alaina blinked at the onslaught, momentarily speechless at the wave of words that Jessica had just unleashed. Jessica was looking at her expectantly, and Alaina struggled to replay the other girls words in her mind, looking for a question she may have missed.

"Uh. Yeah… Not really a whole lot of room here left…"

Jessica laughed, way louder than Alaina's pathetic attempt at a joke warranted.

"You're funny! You remind me of Bella. She's the other new girl here. Everyone just loves her..." Alaina may have imagined it, but she thought she could detect a tiny hint of bitterness at the comment. The bright girl next to her shook it off easily though.

"You'll have to sit with us at lunch! I can introduce you to everyone"

Before Alaina could reply, Mrs Crawford started up again.

"Anyways. Get out your books. You should have finished the first chapter. I'll give you a few moments to go over your notes before handing out the worksheet. Please work by yourself, then we'll go over it all together."

Alaina smiled apologetically at Jessica before opening her book, however she could tell by the other girl's demeanor that she wasn't going to be let off that easy. Looks like she wasn't going to have to worry about sitting alone at lunch. At least there was that…

Alaina felt the hair rise on the back of her neck and she chanced a glance over to her right. The gorgeous boy had taken his seat and was looking at her with a curious expression on his face. He still had a pained look in his eyes, but it didn't look quite as much like his insides were being pulled out of his nose anymore. The improvement made him, if anything, even more attractive.

Just as the boy was opening his mouth, a wave of calmness washed over Alaina, almost making her shiver. She felt her heartbeat slow and her breathing seemed to even out for the first time that day.

"Jasper Hale," he said by way of introduction. Alaina half expected him to hold his hand out with the greeting, and found herself mildly surprised when he didn't. Not only did it appear to be the norm among the (admittedly few) people she had already come in contact with, she had heard a lot about the many quirks of 'southern hospitality', and the slight lilt to his speech gave away that he was even more of an outsider than she was.

Correctly guessing the source of Alaina's perplexed expression, the corner of his mouth lifted in a slight grin. "Southern transplant".

Alaina smiled nervously, tucking a stray strand of hair behind her ear.

"Um. I'm Alaina. It's.. Uh… It's nice to meet you?" Alaina mentally kicked herself for the way her statement seemed to come out as a question. This was easily the most attractive person she had ever seen in person, and though she never had thought she was that kind of person, it seemed to have the unfortunate effect of making her completely forget how to function. Just as her heart rate began to race again in embarrassment, she felt another wave of calm settle around her shoulders, the muscles she had unconsciously began to bunch relaxing from around her ears.

"How are you liking Forks?" Every word seemed calculated, cautious.

"Mr. Hale! Please do your own work. You will have plenty of time to socialize during lunch." Mrs. Crawford's abrupt voice made Alaina jump again. Jesus. She felt like a jumping bean with how many times she had been startled within the last 10 minutes.

A few of the students snickered into their books. Jessica in particular looked a little smug.

"My apologies Mrs. Crawford. I was just welcoming Alaina to the school and informing her that we are all glad to have another new student among the ranks." Jasper canted his head in her direction and winked. Mrs. Crawford visibly softened at the reply, though her noticeably cold demeanor to the southern boy contrasted drastically with the warm welcome Alaina had received not 5 minutes prior.

Once everyone had quieted back down, Alaina crossed her legs in her chair, using the scuffle to inconspicuously scoot her chair a little closer to the golden boy. She saw him stiffen a little, but other than that, he just looked over at her expectantly. Mrs. Crawford had her back turned and was writing something on the blackboard at the front of the class. Deciding to risk it, she leaned over slightly to answer.

"I like it so far, I guess. I'm from the midwest. It's a little different from back home." Alaina shrugged with the comment, though she was mentally kicking herself for not being able to come up with something more interesting to say. The reality of her situation suddenly flared and Alaina felt a wave of anxiety rise up in her chest. She was actually here. In a classroom on the other side of the country and a new school surrounded by strangers. Before the anxiety could really take hold, the calmness from before smoothed the rough edges in her chest, easing the tense muscles before they could clamp tight. Furrowing her brow, Alaina looked over at Jasper, curious if he had seen her quick escape from the anxiety attack that she knew was hovering just below the surface, but his expression had not changed.

"I'm sure you'll settle in just fine," Jasper said with a kind smile. As if to signal the conversation was truly over, he reached into the bag at his feet and pulled out a copy of Wuthering Heights that was even more tattered than hers, opening it to a random page and seamlessly shifting his attention to the words before him.

The rest of the class passed uneventfully. Mrs. Crawford proved to be as enthusiastic in her teaching as she was in general and Alaina couldn't help but be relieved that she had already read the book at her old school. Crawford was fast paced and Alaina could already tell that she was going to delve into the book on a level that she hadn't reached before. Once the bell rang, Alaina turned to Jasper to say something, but somehow he had already packed up his bag and was halfway across the room, exiting it well before any of the other students had fully stood up.

After AP English was French, then European History, and lastly psychology. Her teachers were all very nice, though none were quite as eccentric as Mrs. Crawford. Quite a few students had come up to introduce themselves and welcome her to the school, but none were quite as persistent as Jessica had been at the start of the day and she had yet to see the other girl since they had parted ways after English with an awkward hug that Alaina didn't feel anywhere near willing to reciprocate. They had just met for god's sake. How on earth did that put them on hugging level?

Alaina followed the general direction of the flow of bodies, not bothering to consult the worn out map she kept tucked in her back pocket. It was clear everyone was heading in the same direction. Sure enough, the flow eventually spilled out into the cafeteria, the walls as gray and unassuming as the sky on the other side of the floor to ceiling windows that flanked the southern and eastern walls.

"Alaina!"

Alaina snapped her head up at the call, scanning the room for any faces that were slightly less foreign. In the corner, she spotted Mike standing at a table and waving her over enthusiastically. Not really seeing any other option, Alaina slowly made her way over, noting that she recognized a few of the other students seated at the table. Unsurprisingly, Jessica was among them.

Mike's waving increased comically as she made her way over, only stopping when she was close enough for him to drape an arm around her shoulders. She stiffened, obviously uncomfortable with his unwelcome touch.

"Hey! This is everyone. Everyone this is Alaina Paw… Pew-"

"Pawlowska," Alaina jumped in, saving the poor boy from further butchering her name.

At Mike's embarrassed frown, she smiled and gently pulled out from under his arm to pat his shoulder. "It's a weird Polish name. No worries. Even I forget it sometimes."

Everyone laughed at her joke, and Alaina slipped her backpack off her shoulder, lowering into the empty seat next to Mike.

"See guys! Didn't I tell you she was funny?" Jessica chimed in, leaning forward dramatically across the table.

Alaina was pleased to note that she wasn't the only one to roll their eyes good naturedly at Jessica exuberance. She knew the other girl meant well, but Alaina couldn't help but find her a little...exhausting.

Once everyone quieted down, Mike turned to the rest of the group.

"This is Angela, Eric, Ben, Jessica-" "We already met" "-and Bella. She was the new girl before you showed up. We sit together most of the time during lunch."

Alaina nodded at each person as they were pointed out, doing her best to try and connect the names with their face and commit them to memory. She was a little overwhelmed, but did her best to try and keep her face relaxed and friendly.

"Don't scare her, Mike. I'm still recovering." The girl Mike had introduced as Bella said, looking over at Alaina apologetically. Alaina smiled her thanks.

Mike smiled sheepishly and raised his hands in surrender. "Whatever dude. Not my fault you're a walking accident waiting to happen."

Bella rolled her eyes before turning back to the newcomer. "So. I know you've gotten this question dozens of times already today, but where are you from?"

Alaina smiled, digging in her backpack for the bag lunch she had prepared before leaving the house that morning. She didn't know if it was the 'cool' thing to bring your own lunch or eat what the cafeteria had thrown together, and she noted with relief that there seemed to be an equal number of each littered about the room. She'd have brought her own food either way, but it was nice not having to worry about another way in which she would stand out.

"Um...Detroit. Michigan. Born and raised… Well.. up 'till now I guess..."

"Pawlowska...Is that Polish?" Bella asked. Alaina looked at her in surprise. "It is. Good guess."

"Aren't Polish people supposed to be really white?" The boy Mike had introduced as Eric chimed in. Angela turned to the boy with a dirty glare and slapped him in the back of the head.

"Eric! You don't just ask people things like that!"

"What?! Aren't they?" Eric looked around seeking a sympathetic face. He was mostly met with rolled eyes and annoyed sighs. Alaina felt oddly touched by the display.

"It's ok. He's right. I'm only half. My mom is from Central America."

Erica looked over apologetically, his cheeks tinted red in embarrassment.

"So, why Forks?" Angela chimed in. Her light brown eyes were kind and her tone was soft. The question was innocent, and honestly, Alaina was surprised that she wasn't confronted with it earlier. However, she still felt her stomach twist as she prepared her lie. Well, it wasn't entirely a lie, just a half truth. Everyone had been really nice. Much nicer than she was expecting actually. But she wasn't ready to talk about it just yet. Or, you know... ever.

"My dad is a construction worker and he got a job out here working on the new interstate project."

The practiced answer rolled off her tongue effortlessly but she still held her breath while she waited for the group's reaction. If the sympathetic nods were anything to go by, it would seem as though they had bought it.

"Man," Eric whined loudly. "More construction to deal with now?! As if the traffic isn't bad enough…"

Both Bella and Alaina barked out a laugh, looking at each other in understanding. If she had to guess, it would appear that Bella also came from a more metropolitan area as well. Traffic? In Forks? They clearly didn't know what traffic even was if they thought a 2 minute wait at a stop light was something to complain about.

"So how does Forks high compare to Detroit? I don't know much about it," Angela asked.

Alaina thought of her old school in Detroit. She thought of the metal detectors at the entrances and the three story brick building everyone jokingly called 'the hive'. She thought of the swarming mass of students constantly littering the halls and grounds, the skin tones of her peers ranging from paper white, to a light brown -like herself- and then to dark chocolate. She thought of the clashing mix of cultures and personalities all crammed and packed in together. Her heart ached as she remembered sitting with her friends during lunch, and she almost resented the strangers around her because of it.

"This is nothing like Detroit," Alaina stated, unable to keep the bitterness out of her voice. Angela looked taken aback by her tone.

"I went to an all-girls school there. It's a bit of an adjustment." Alaina added with a shrug.

"You went to an all-girls school? No way!" Mike yelled. Alaina winced at the volume, looking around in alarm as a few students glanced in their direction. The boy was about as subtle as a bear in a campsite. Bella gave Alaina another sympathetic look when Mike and Ben smirked, giving each other an obnoxious high five.

Jessica leaned forward conspiratorially. "What was it like? Was everyone a les-"

"This must be a bit of an adjustment for you then," Bella hastily cut in, her eyes flicking to Jessica in a flash of warning. Alaina smiled at Bella in thanks. She was by far the most likable of the group, and Alaina felt herself warming to the pretty brunette more and more every time she opened her mouth. Alaina was about to reply when a flash of pale and gold caught her eye. When she turned her head to look, Alaina suddenly found herself speechless.

A blond goddess -there really wasn't a better way to describe her- floated by their table. The girl was… perfect. Alaina followed the girl with her eyes as she drifted to the back of the cafeteria and sat at a table crowded with four other bodies. When she spotted the rest of her group, Alaina felt her mouth drop open. Of course the painfully gorgeous boy from English was there. She should have expected that. What she didn't expect were that there were three others, all painfully beautiful. Painfully perfect. Alaina felt herself shrink at the sight. What the hell. _Was there something in Forks' water?_

The sound of laughter broke the spell, and Alaina blinked heavily, tearing her eyes back the group of people around her.

"Looks like she finally noticed the Cullens," Ben said with a smirk. Angela and Eric were giggling good naturedly, while Mike and Jessica both rolled their eyes in thinly veiled annoyance. Bella, for some strange reason, was blushing, staring down into her food as though it were suddenly the most interesting thing she had ever seen.

"Huh?"

"The Cullens," Jessica clarified. There was a bite to her tone, and Alaina didn't miss the glare she shot at Bella.

"It's ok. Everyone has that reaction at first." Ben said with a shrug, leering over at Bella suggestively. The brunette didn't look up, instead focusing intently on peeling a sticker off of the apple that she was working between her fingers.

"They're kind of like the school's royalty," Eric chimed in, digging into the schools spaghetti and shoveling an alarmingly large forkful into his mouth.

"More like the _towns_ royalty" Mike added, the annoyance in his voice only slightly less conspicuous than it had been in Jessica's.

Jessica leaned over and nodded her head at the back table, keeping her voice low as though she were divulging state secrets. Alaina almost rolled her eyes at herself when she instinctively leaned in as well. Ok. So maybe she was a little bit curious.

"The blond girl is Rosalie Hale. You already met Jasper in English. He's her twin. The little one is Alice, the tortured model one is Edward and the big one is Emmett. Those three are blood related. The two groups were adopted by Dr. Cullen. He works down at the local hospital. And get this," Jessica dramatically looked around before leaning even closer. "They're all _together_."

"Jess..." Bella finally intoned, her face pained and embarrassed. The red tint to her cheeks was still going strong.

"Hey! It's true!"

"Yeah Bells. Just cuz you have a hard-on for Abercrombie doesn't mean they aren't a little...weird." Mike said, shrugging as he too dug sloppily into his spaghetti. Honestly, watching to boys eat was almost disturbing.

"What do you mean _together_?" Alaina asked, flicking her eyes back and forth from her friends to the captivating group at the back of the room.

Angela rolled her eyes at Jessica's theatrics. "Alice and Jasper are a couple. So are Emmett and Rosalie. Edward is single."

"For now," Jessica muttered into her coke as she took a sip. Bella's blush impossibly deepened even further.

Eric and Angela giggled, but Mike rolled his eyes with a sneer. _Sounds like there's a little bit more to the story here._

It was unnerving how physically perfect they were. Even from across the room, it was impossible to miss. The big one (Emmett?) immediately caught her eye above the rest. He was big. Like really big. The material of his simple black button up was straining around the muscles of his forearms and pulled fashionably taught across his broad chest. His cheekbones flashed prominently high on his face beneath deep set eyes that did little to hide the startling bronze of his irises. His hair was dark and thick, the cut shorter than his brothers. If Alaina was being honest, the only real resemblance he shared with his brother and sister were their darker hair and eye color. Whereas Edward was lean and sleek, obviously nearing the end of his transition out of his teenage boyhood, Emmett looked like a man. A handsome man. An ungodly perfectly handsome man. An ungodly perfectly handsome man that was looking at her. _Shit!_

Alaina quickly ducked her head, her eyes wide while her heart raced uncomfortably in her chest.

Angela laughed and rested her hand gently on Alaina's shoulder. "Don't worry. You'll get used to them. They mostly stick to themselves anyways."

Alaina smiled shakily, a blush of her own flooding her cheeks at having been caught so obviously staring.

"Have you had any chance to explore Forks yet?" Bella abruptly asked. Alaina looked over in gratitude at the change of subject, suspecting that she wasn't the only one that was eager to talk about something other than the Cullens.

"Um… Not really. We really only just moved here."

"Hey! You should totally come with us to La Push," Mike blurt out, causing Bella and Alaina to jump.

"La Push?"

"La Push, baby!" Eric said excitedly. "It's a beach a while away from Forks. The waves are wicked this time of year. You should totally come with!"

Alaina suddenly felt a little uncomfortable. Eric and Mike were looking at her in thinly veiled excitement, and Ben was nodding enthusiastically. "I actually don't-" Bella cleared her throat, glancing at Alaina with an almost desperate look in her eye. The message was clear. _Please come. Please don't make be go to this thing with them by myself._ Alaina didn't know if it was because of a strange sense of camaraderie due to being the other new girl, or because she actually genuinely liked the girl, but Alaina found herself nodding, forcing her lips into a gracious smile. "OK. Yeah. That sounds fun."

Alaina had to quell the giggle in her throat when Bella's shoulders dropped in a sigh of relief, mouthing thank you when she glanced up with a smile.

The bell rang, signaling the end of lunch and the boys at the table all groaned as they rose and started making their way to the exit. Alaina frowned. In all of the excitement she had barely touched her lunch. Bella took her time packing up her things, lingering behind as she waited for Alaina to do the same.

"What do you have next?" the brunette enquired as they made their way into the bustling hallways. Jessica and Angela were walking slightly ahead of them. The boys were already long gone.

"Um…" Alaina pulled her schedule out of her pocket and scanned the page. "Biology with Mr. Banner."

"Nice. Same." Bella said, her face lighting up. "I'm sure you're still figuring your way around, so I'll show you the fastest route."

"Yeah… Thanks", Alain replied shyly.

"Hey, I was new about two months ago. I know what it's like being the shiny new toy. They mean well…", Bella trailed off with a shrug.

"Yeah. Everyone has been really nice so far. It's just...different."

"I know what you mean. When I first got here, it felt like I was the only normal one here, you know?"

"Yeah. I really do." Alaina laughed. "How long ago did you move here?"

"Oh… Five weeks, 6 days and... 22 hours?" Bella shrugged. "I'm practically a native."

Alaina laughed. "So… Now that you're a Forks High veteran, are you still the only normal one?"

Bella scrunched her face up in thought. "I think I might be. Yes."

Again, Alaina laughed. Bella was… well she was actually pretty cool. Out of everyone she had met thus far, Bella was probably the one Alaina felt most likely to be actual friends with. Her and maybe Angela. Jessica and the boys? Not so much.

The girls walked in amicable silence, slowing as they approached a classroom number that Alaina recognized from her schedule. Alaina smiled at Bella as the brunette gestured for her to go through first.

She quickly scanned the room, only for her eyes to skitter to a stop when she spotted a pair of familiar golden eyes staring at her curiously from a seat towards the back of the room. This one must be Edward, the 'tortured model'. The description was actually pretty accurate. His hair was longer than she was used to seeing on most boys, and styled in a manner that looked as though he had just crawled out of bed, but meticulously enough to be anything but an accident. Like his siblings, he was unearthly beautiful and he definitely looked like he belonged more on a runway in Milan than sitting in the back of a dingy classroom in a tiny blip of a town on the west coast.

Alaina felt Bella approaching her from behind and the boys eyes immediately shifted, fixing on the brunette behind her with an almost shocking intensity.

Alaina glanced behind her and noticed that Bella was staring right back, her cheeks coloring again with another blush. OK. There was _definitely_ more to this story.

"Alaina!" Alaina ripped her eyes from Bella's intense staring contest and looked around the room. Mike was waving her over enthusiastically, gesturing to the empty seat next to him. She felt her stomach drop when she noticed that the only other vacant spot was next to the Cullen, and she instinctively knew that she should leave that to Bella.

"Seats everyone!" Mr. Banner called out. He was a portly man that looked to be in his mid-40's, and was sitting at his desk, staring intently at his computer screen. Alaina looked around in chagrin. She and Bella were the only ones still standing.

Bella finally ripped her eyes from Edward and looked at Alaina apologetically when she too noticed the seating arrangements. Alaina shrugged and made her way to her spot, dropping herself heavily into her seat.

She had barely moved to open her backpack before Mike eagerly leaned over.

"So, about your all-girls school…"

* * *

The BIGGEST shout out and thanks to my beta/co-writer/fanfic recommender farfrom7. I truly don't know what this story would do without you!


	2. Chapter Two

Alaina tried to pay attention in biology. She really did. She probably _could_ have. Unfortunately, Mike seemed absolutely determined to make this impossible. His questions were relentless, coming rapid fire in an endless stream. Alaina had to grit her teeth as she struggled to keep from telling him to just shut up and pay attention. Not too long ago, Alaina probably would have. She was actually pretty infamous at her old school for mouthing off and using her wit to sting and perry whenever she felt the inclination, but Alaina really wasn't that way anymore. Not since… well...before.

So Alaina smiled. She answered his questions. She bit back her frustration even though his whispering voice in her ear was _really_ starting to grate on her nerves.

"How was the weather in Detroit? Rainy?" Mike asked quietly as Mr. Banner droned on, lecturing on the stages of mitosis. _You're asking me about weather? Seriously? Why are people so damn obsessed with the weather here?_ After powering through the onslaught of questions regarding her old school - no. Everyone at an all-girl school are in fact _not_ lesbians - , she had _really_ hoped he'd back off. But nope. Nearing the end of her rope, Alaina pretended she didn't hear, hunching her shoulders as she copied Mr. Banner's notes off the blackboard. Mike soldiered on, either not noticing the distress he was causing or blatantly uncaring. Alaina's handwriting was becoming reduced to a barely legible scribble as she clenched her pencil in irritation.

"- mean I guess I really don't mind the rain all that much, but it would be nice to li-"

"Hey Mike?" Alaina ground out.

Mike jumped at Alaina's interruption, tilting his head in question.

"I'm sorry, but I'm really not all that good at biology so I kind of just need to focus. Is that ok?"

"Oh! Yeah. Sorry."

Alaina sighed in relief. "Thank you."

"You're welcome."

Alaina returned to her notes.

"It would just be nice to live somewhere where it wasn't _always_ raining-"

Alaina dropped her pencil and barely suppressed a growl in frustration, crossing her arms and raising her hand to pinch the bridge of her nose between her fingers. _Dear god. If he and Jessica ever got together and had kids, the world would come to a screeching halt, one meaningless conversation at a time._

All but giving up on actually _learning_ anything, Alaina let her attention wander, settling almost immediately on Bella and Edward across the room.

It was clear that Bella wasn't even trying to pay attention to the class. Alaina would have bet money that she probably had forgotten what the subject even _was_ judging by how closely tuned she was to the boy to her right. And honestly? Alaina couldn't blame her. Edward was... beautiful, as weird as that is to think about a boy. Although he was dressed plainly, she could tell his clothing was expensive and tailored perfectly. She thought of the phrase "money talks, but wealth whispers," and she was certain that this was written about Edward. _How is it possible for someone like that to actually be real?_ Alaina thought to herself in bewilderment. Edwards head suddenly twitched in her direction, and she swore she saw him smirk.

"So?" Mike intoned. Alaina tore her eyes from across the room and returned back to good old Mikey. Apparently he had asked her another question because he was looking at her expectantly.

"What?" Alaina asked in exasperation, resting her head on her hand as she met his eyes. She was officially irritated to the point where she no longer cared if it showed.

"You didn't answer."

"Answer what, Mike?"

"Detroit. Was it as rainy as Forks?" He repeated. It was almost sad how much he seemed so oblivious to her annoyance.

"No, Mike. Detroit is not as rainy as the Pacific Northwest."

Mike finally seemed to catch onto Alaina's body language and tone, and she felt a sudden rush of guilt when she noticed the way his shoulders drooped. He really was just trying to be nice.

"Well, I mean it rains sometimes and can get a little gloomy, but not like Forks. Everything is much greener here though." Alaina added, schooling her tone to something much friendlier.

Mike immediately brightened at her friendly response, soldiering on as though nothing had happened.

"Wait until we drive to First Beach-"

"Mr. Newton," Mr. Banner's voice rang out, effectively - _finally -_ cut Mike off. _About damn time._ "How on earth could anything you have to say be more important at this time than mitosis? Please pay attention and wait until _after_ class to continue your courtship with Ms. Pawlowska."

The class erupted in quiet giggles and Mike's ears turned a bright red as he hunched down in his seat, grabbing his pencil from his desk and tapping it nervously on his notebook.

Across the room, Bella twisted in her seat and raised her eyebrows. It was very clear that she was trying not to laugh.

Alaina rolled her eyes good naturedly, smiling to herself as Bella turned back around. As soon as Mr. Banner started up his lecture again, Bella and Edward leaned back towards each other, seamlessly continuing whatever conversation in which they previously been engaged. It was obvious that _something_ was going on between those two and the chemistry between them was very clearly obvious.

Alaina was still watching them when Mr. Banner began explaining lab directions. She really hoped that Mike had at least an idea of what was going on regarding the class material, because apparently they would be trying to identify the different stages of mitosis, and Alaina had absolutely no idea how to even start thanks to the chatty Cathy to her right.

"Oh don't tell me you're into Cullen too?" Mike dralwed. Alaina tore her eyes again from the pair and looked at Mike questioningly.

"What?"

Mike nodded his head over at Bella and Edward. How odd. He couldn't pick up on her almost desperate need for him to stop volleying questions every three seconds, but managed to interpret based on a couple of looks across the room that Alaina was possibly crushing on a boy she hadn't even spoken to. Mike was, of course, very wrong. It was true that Edward was extremely attractive, but aside from the fact that it was very clear that he was already very obviously into someone else, his lean and boyish looks didn't really do anything for Alaina.

"Mike," Alaina sighed, barely keeping herself from rolling her eyes. "Can we just work on this lab?"

"So _that's_ a yes…" Mike mumbled under his breath, writing his name across the top of the paper.

Alaina felt her patience start to wear thin. "I've been here for less than a day. How in the world am I going to know who I like or don't like?"

"I mean it's just that everyone seems to like the Cullens," Mike stated, hunching further in his seat. Was he _sulking_?

Alaina groaned. "I don't like Edward, Ok? I'm just trying to get through 5th period and right now that involves developing the crucial life skill of identifying the different stages of cellular mitosis. Can you help me with that Mike? Please?"

Alaina did her best to keep her tone light and teasing, but the truth was that she was rapidly losing control of her temper. Luckily, Mike didn't seem to take offense and snorted into his notebook. Mr. Banner snapped his head up and glared before returning his attention to the computer screen.

"Yeah. Ok. Sorry. Just trying to get to know you, that's all. So do you think this is anaphase?"

Alaina blinked at his rapid change of attitude. Mike really was something else.

So it turned out that Mike was almost as hopeless at biology as Alaina was, and they were the last group to finish their worksheet. Furthermore, Mr. Banner barely concealed his irritation when he marked more than half of their answers as incorrect before returning the paper to add to their notes. Mike shrugged sheepishly and Alaina rolled her eyes. He was truly a magnificently awful lab partner.

The bell rang only a few minutes later, and Alaina's eyes darted to Bella and Edward once more as the boy hastily grabbed his backpack and all but sprinted out the door, echoing very closely his brother's behavior in English. Maybe it was just a family trait?

Alaina ambled over to where Bella was still shoving her notebook into her bag, noting with mild annoyance as Mike nipped at her heels.

"Congrats on the golden onion," Alaina quipped, retuning Bella's smile when the brunette noticed Alaina's approach. Edward and Bella were the first to finish their worksheet correctly, and Mr. Banner awarded their effort with an onion coated in gold spraypaint. Why? Because science.

Bella rolled her eyes and laughed, looking curiously at her onion. "It's truly a work of art. Isn't it."

Alaina nodded sagely, thoroughly enjoying their playful banter. "An absolute beauty."

Bella laughed before leaning in conspiratorially. "Wanna know my secret?"

Alaina raised her eyebrow in question.

"I may or may not have already covered all this material at my old school. Alas. My glorious onion was in no way rightly earned."

Alaina laughed. Yeah. Bella was definitely someone Alaina could see herself being friends with. "Oh come on, Bella. You and Edward finished that lab in like 5 minutes. It was completely earned. Mike and I literally failed."

Bella grimaced in sympathy. "Yeah. It looked like you guys were having a little trouble." Bella's eyes flicked to the boy hovering behind Alaina's shoulder. Her message was clear. _I'm sorry you had to deal with him all class. You're a trooper_.

"That we were. I'm not really good at this kind of stuff. Science has always been my weak spot."

"Hmm. Well I took advanced biology back in Arizona so this class is pretty easy. Do you maybe want to study together some time? Maybe I can help."

By this time, the trio was walking amicably down the hallway. Alaina was pretty sure she had P.E. next, but she really had no idea where she was going.

"We can all study together!" Mike suddenly chimed in, wedging himself between the two girls and draping his arms around their shoulders. As soon as she felt the weight of his arm, Alaina stiffened, her heart rate spiking and her stomach dropping into her heels. Doing her best to ward off her sudden panic, Alaina hastily ducked from under his arm and backed away.

"Please don't touch me," she said quickly but forcefully.

"Whoa, calm down Detroit, " Mike said, looking a little startled by her outburst. He lifted his arms in surrender, but smiled good naturedly. Bella eyes, however, flashed in concern.

"Um… I have gym next. I better go." Alaina rushed out. She was embarrassed at her outburst, and while Mike may have been oblivious as to how rattled she suddenly was, Bella was far too observat to miss it and she didn't really want to be asked any questions right then. Losing her shit in the middle of a hallway on her first day of school wasn't exactly on Alaina's list of legacies she wanted to have at her new high school. She started speed walking away, when Bella's voice stopped her.

"Alaina?"

"Um. Yeah?"

"Do you know where you're going?"

"Um. No?"

"Main gym is that way. Just take the stairs down and you can't miss it."

Alaina laughed nervously. She had definitely been walking in the wrong direction.

"Oh. OK. Um. Thanks."

Alaina turned around and started walking when Bella's voice stopped her again.

"Hey. Let's meet up later. I was seriously about the study group offer. OK?"

Alaina smiled at Bella's offer. She seemed to be doing her best to help ease Alaina through whatever freakout she was staving off, and Alaina couldn't have been more grateful. It actually was helping too, and Alaina felt her heartbeat slowly returning to normal. In fact, she was starting to feel really stupid.

"Yeah. Ok. I'd really like that."

"Study group! Sweet," Mike exclaimed cheerily. Bella rolled her eyes, and grabbed Mike's arm, steering him away.

"Alright smooth operator. Let's go."

Alaina found the gym easily by following the erratic squeaks of the tennis shoes against the waxed gym floor. She walked in the open door and scanned the classroom looking for the teacher to have her schedule signed.

"Angela!" Alaina said, spotting her near the bleachers. It felt like a weight was lifted off of her shoulders to have a familiar face in her class. "Where is the teacher?"

Angela pointed to a middle aged man in a polo and khaki pants. "That's Coach Clapp."

"I should have guessed!" Alaina laughed, walking over to the teacher. Alaina doubted there was a magazine about PE teachers, but if there was, Coach Clapp would be on the cover. His arms were crossed over his chest and he was holding a clipboard.

"Ms. - ?" He asked, raising his graying eyebrows at her.

"Alaina Pawlowska," she finished automatically for him. She handed him her schedule for him to sign.

"Oh, yes. Mrs. Cole said I was getting a new student today. Welcome to Forks," he mumbled absently. He signed her schedule and handed it back to her.

"Here is your gym uniform," he said, handing her a plastic bag full of white and blue cotton. She ordered her uniform a few weeks ago from the main office at the school. She inwardly groaned looking at the clothing.

"You're pretty tall," he commented while Alaina was looking through the clothes to make sure the correct sizes were ordered. "5'10?"

"Close. 5'9'."

"Do you play volleyball?"

"Not anymore," she said quickly, shaking her head. She played on her high school's volleyball team in Detroit. Volleyball had always come quite easier to her growing up; her tall stature made the game odds lean to her favor.

He nodded. "You should think about trying out for the team next year. We are favourites to win state." He said with pride. "The locker rooms are on the other side of the gym, and the girls is on the right side. As this is your first class, you don't have to change today. You can sit on the bleachers and watch how the class is run. It's going to be the same routine class so pay attention."

Alaina nodded, and was incredibly grateful that she didn't need to change. The uniform looked smaller than she anticipated, so she wanted to try on the uniform from the comfort of her room, not a room full of 10 girls she didn't know.

"Now, because the school makes me," he said, irritation showing in his tight jaw, "we have a written assignment every other week. So I can have a grade in your gradebook, you can do this week's assignment today, in class."

Alaina reached into her bag to pull out a notebook and a pen. The school supplies felt vaguely out of place in the gymnasium.

"All you need to do is write a short paragraph about a fitness topic, a sport you think is interesting, a famous athlete," he trailed off, counting each option with his fingers. "You get the idea. Not knowing what to expect makes grading these slightly more bearable."

The first bell rang, and the high pitched shrill rang around the gym. "Alright Alaina, take a seat on the bleachers, watch our daily warm up, and hand in your classroom before you leave. Capiche?"

"Capiche," Alaina responded with a smile. Coach Clapp seemed a little batty, but she liked him all the same.

Alaina round a set in the middle of the beachers, a few row up from the bottom. She sat down on the cool plastic and placed her notebook on her lap. She looked up and did another scan of the gym to see if she knew any other student beside Angela. Her eyes darted to each person and she did recognize a few familiar faces from her previous classes. Her eyes suddenly stopped on a pair of the captivating amber eyes she saw at lunch: the boy Bella said was Emmett Cullen. Alaina's couldn't help but to stare at Emmett a little longer than the rest. He was extremely tall, well over Alaina's stature. His short, curly hair was dark and contrasted strikingly against his pale skin. He had boyish features, and the same Amber eyes as Jasper.

Coach Clapp blew his whistle to signal the start the the warm up. All of the students started to walk towards the left side of the gym. Once they lined up, he blew his whistle again, and the wall of students broke into a run across the floor. Emmett was the first student off the line, and for someone who looked like a professional bodybuilder, his speed was apparent. His gait was somehow graceful during the sprint and he was easily the first student to make it to the other side.

Once he took his place to start the next run, he made eye contact with Alaina. She didn't realize she was staring, and locking eyes with Emmett threw her back to reality. Her eyes instantly darted way.

The whistle blew again. Once more, Emmett was the first to finish. This back and forth sprint continued for 5 rounds total. At the final whistle, Alaina heard her classmates give an audible sigh of relief that the warm up was over. Many, if not all of her classmates' faces were glistening with sweat; she could see if them the stands. She decided to steal another glance at Emmett. He was talking to another student and she cold tell his ego was inflated from the warm up.

Emmett strutted over to where Coach Clapp was waiting for his students in a cocky way. _Showing off in class must be his way of boosting his ego_ , she thought. He was undeniably attractive, but being able to see his self-admiration from the other side of the large gym was an instant turn off.

She opened up her notebook to a blank page and scribbled a title at the top of the margin: _Volleyball Knee Pads: Friend or Foe_. She started to write her paragraph. The teacher's voice, from years of practice, boomed across the entire gym, giving directions to his students. Alaina wasn't paying attention, so she only heard a few phrases: "Last day for Badminton!" "Teams…"

 _Thousands of overpriced knee marshmallows, otherwise known as knee pads, are mass-produced each year for the burgeoning volleyball player. But I pose you a simple question: Do we even_ need _these monstrosities?_

Alaina had the feeling that Coach Clapp wouldn't be reading these very carefully, based on his annoyance when he explained the assignment, so she decided to have some fun.

She continued to write. _I personally own several pairs, and I resent the way the save my knees from potentially impressive bruises. Volleyball player have never been the sort of athletes that one would think as intimidating. But why not? We are strong. We are quick. We have enough courage to wear spandex on a daily basis. Wearing knee pillows make us look weak. Sure, they can help protect against knee and joint damage, but I would much rather look rough and tough. In conclusion, the next time your coach tells you to suit up with your kneepads, toss them over your shoulder and show your new bruises with pride._

She easily finished her classroom, so she decided to watch the badminton games. Her eyes quickly darted over to Emmett, who was playing in the court in front of her.

He was extremely tall and muscular, so watching him play badminton felt off. It was like watching a grizzly bear swing ping pong racket. She couldn't help but smile, thinking of a bear wearing a gym uniform.

Emmett didn't miss a single opportunity to score. Even if it seemed impossible, Emmett saved it. In fact, the other team wasn't able to score one point. After every point was made, he threw his arms up in victory. _It's a gym class, not the Olympics. Calm down,_ she thought. But it was true - he was showing off and in short, it was annoying.

After a few more moments of one sided scoring, Coach Clapp blew whistle. "Last point, everyone! As soon as this round is over, hit the showers."

The games started back up. Still watching Emmett's game, she watched him line up to serve. He threw the shuttlecock into the air and hit it powerfully with the racket. It bulleted quickly over the other side of the next, aiming right towards Alaina.

Alaina put her hands up to protect herself. The shuttlecock swiftly hit Alaina on her forearm. "Hey!" she shouted as it struck her.

"Sorry!" He boomed, not bothering to contain his laughter. "Bad aim!"

"Right," she responded sarcastically, as the class dispersed to the locker rooms to change.

She scribbled her name at the top of her assignment and tore it out of her notebook. She walked up the the teacher and handing over the work.

"Thank you," he said, putting the work aside. "We are starting volleyball tomorrow, so make sure you're here on time and in uniform."

"Got it, Coach," she said, turning on her heel. She walked out of the door as quickly as she could, not wanting to target practice again.

Alaina spent the rest of the day in survival mode. As someone who was more introverted, spending the day surrounded by people she didn't know was mentally, and even physically, exhausting. But luckily, Forks High was relatively small, and it was comforting to see many of the same faces over and over again… especially Bella. She could tell that they would be good friends.

The final bell rang and she walked out of the door of her last class. She smiled at the teacher as she got her scheduled signed.

"The main office is to your left," the teacher stated, pointing over his shoulder.

"Thank you!" She responded and left the classroom. When she got to the main office, she opened the door. Mrs. Cole beamed at her.

"How was your first day?" She asked kindly, taking her signed schedule. She swiveled in her chair to open a filing cabinet.

She paused. "Better than expected," she answered honestly, and received a warm smile from the receptions in return.

"That's so good to hear, my dear," she said. "I hope you have a good evening."

"Thank you!" Alaina responded kindly. "You too!"

She walked out into the cool air, a blanket of drizzle covering her immediately. She threw her hood up over her long brown hair and started to walk to the line of busses stationed at the opposite end of the parking lot. Her stomach involuntarily churned as she thought about the chamber of diesel fuel that was about to suffocate her. _Maybe tomorrow I'll bring a gas mask?_ She thought shrewdly.

"Don't slip tomorrow morning, Detroit!" Mike's voice came from behind her. She couldn't help but to grin. Even though Mike was annoying, he was extremely kind and accepted her immediately which she deeply appreciated.

"Ha, ha, ha. Very funny. See you tomorrow!"

Mike waved as he headed off into the parking lot. Alaina's eyes darted to the massive red truck parked in the middle of the lot that caught her eye in the morning. She was surprised to see Bella standing next to the pile of old metal.

Alaina walked to the truck. "Bella!" She yelled as her friend was listening to headphones. "This is _your_ truck?"

Bella nodded, slightly embarrassed. "Yeah. Charlie bought it for me when I moved here. I know it's not much but it runs." She gently punched the door of the truck, in an affectionate way.

"It's amazing! I mean, Detroit is nicknamed "motor city" so I appreciate a cool, old car. I love it! I even noticed it when I walked in this morning. It's pretty memorable."

Bella laughed. "Yes, you can say that! Do you drive?"

"No," Alaina responded, shaking her head. "I wish! Moving out here wasn't cheap…" She trailed off, shrugging apologetically. "I will be taking the bus, unfortunately. And it looks like it's about to leave, so I better go." She could hear a bus honking across the lot.

"Where do you live?" She asked.

"I live on Mayberry Street."

"I only live a few streets over on Ackerly! Want a ride home?"

Alaina bit her bottom lip. As much as she hated the bus, she didn't want to overstay her welcome with her new friend.

"It's not an inconvenience," Bella smiled, seemingly reading her mind.

"Sold," Alaina responded, opening the truck door and hopping in. "You drive a hard bargain."

Bella opened up the other door and jumped in. They threw their bags in the middle of the front seat. Bella turned the key in the ignition and the truck roared to life. The truck shook when the engine was on and it sounded like it would fall apart at any moment. Alaina loved it.

Bella pulled out of her spot and went to the queue to leave the school. It was slightly backed up, so Alaina looked around. Her eyes finally stopped when she saw Jasper.

He was standing next to a silver Volvo on the edge of the parking lot with the rest of his him. She quickly averted her eyes when she saw Emmett.

"Is Emmett staring at you?" Bella asked, breaking Alaina's gaze.

"Oh," Alaina said stupidly. "No. I don't think so."

Bella shrugged. "It totally looked like he was staring at you."

"Well, we did sort of have a badminton incident in P.E. today."

"Sounds like my gym class," she shuddered. "I'm a walking disaster."

"Changing the subject," Alaina said, as the line to leave the lot started to move. "I hate asking the question of the day, but why did you move to Forks?"

The drive was comfortable and the two girls chatted the entire way home. She learned about Bella's family, why she came to Washington, and her thoughts of the place so far. Although Bella wasn't the most talkative person, she was easy to talk to. When the reached Alaina's street, she pointed out her new home towards the end of the block.

As Bella pulled into the gravel driveway, it took Alaina a moment to even recognize her new home and she felt her chest contract involuntarily. Her house was a small two story home. The white paint was slowly turning gray because of the the constant rain that covered this small town and the paint on the green shutters was chipping. It reminded Alaina of a haunted house.

"This is it! Thanks, Bella. I really appreciate it," Alaina said, grabbing her bag and opening the door to get out.

"It was really no problem at all. Like I said, I only live two streets over," she said politely. "See you tomorrow?"

"See you!" Alaina waved back. She slowly walked up the stairs to the porch. She hesitated before opening the door. The soft glow of the lights in the home gently illuminated the impeding twilight. She could hear her parents talking to each other; her mother's soprano laugh contrasted with her father's bass chuckle. She smiled, enjoying their music. For a brief moment, she was transported back to her parent's in Detroit, and the familiar pang of longing took over chest.

 _She shut her car door behind her and walked to the porch. The Detroit traffic could be heard from her house, as the start of rush hour came. She threw her backpack on the porch swing and plopped down next to it. She could hear her Dad listening to the news and her mother telling him about her day. She would bet that he wasn't listening. Smiling she closed her eyes and took in the moment..._

She opened the door, trying to stop thinking about Detroit. She tossed her backpack to the side, and walked into the living room.

"Hi Dad," she said, sitting on the couch next to him.

Her father turned the TV volume down and turned towards her. "Did you survive your first day?"

"Just barely. I only came out with a few battle wounds."

"That's my girl," her dad smiled, satisfied. He pushed the volume button to increase the sound. His weathered hands held the remote and she could see his wrinkled face crinkle slightly while watching the screen.

"How was your day?" Her mother asked, walking out of the kitchen. She wiped her hands on her jeans. Her brown eyes were warm, but tired. Moving to Forks was not easy on any of them, but especially her mother. She was a principal at Alaina's old high school and finding a new job here was becoming increasingly difficult. She had spent the last two weeks trying to find a job while they lived off of her father's construction work.

She spent the rest of answering her mother's incessant questions. Her mother was a very kind woman, but didn't know when to stop. She was the opposite of her father; he knew when not to hover. Alaina became increasingly annoyed with the interrogation

"Mom? I have homework," she interrupted, walking towards the door to grab her backpack. "I'll be upstairs, okay?"

She quickly ran up the stairs to her bedroom and shut the door gently behind her. She had no intention of starting her homework at that moment; she had too much on her mind. She dropped on her bed and stared up to the ceiling. Her mind first went to Jasper. Although their encounter was brief, it was hard to keep him out of her mind. She felt so calm, even serene, around him. It was truly a welcome change from the anxiety and pain that she was accustomed to the last few months. She was drawn to him, but it unnerved her that he looked like sitting next to her caused torment to be etched across his face.

All of their group was completely bewildering. They were unrealistically beautiful; it felt wrong to even look at them, but she couldn't help to stare, particularly at the large one, Emmett. When she made eye contact with him, it felt like her heart stopped. She could feel the eyes of his siblings watch her curiously, but Emmett's gaze was so intense, she could only stare for a moment. She shook her head, trying to shake them from her mind.

As she finally succumbed to sleep, her dreams were full of captivating amber eyes.

* * *

As always, the BIGGEST thanks to my beta/co-writer farfrom7. Please check her out!


	3. Chapter Three

Alaina was waiting at the bus stop with her old hoodie flipped up over her head, covering her brown hair from the weather. The seemingly constant drizzle of the Pacific Northwest was replaced with an ice storm the night before. Back home in Michigan, school would have been easily cancelled and she desperately longed to be safely back in her bed. Although she appreciated the resiliency of Forks, she was praying that her bus didn't run off the side of the road.

She heard the familiar rumble of the bus from around the corner. As the bus pulled onto her street, she noticed that the giant tires were covered by chains to help drive in the snow and ice. Alaina smiled, feeling safer. In Detroit, she was terrified to drive in winter, so she appreciated the precautions that Forks took.

The bus stopped at her stop and she carefully walked over the icy sidewalk to the bus. The bus door creaked open, and the bus driver smiled at her.

"Mornin' Alaina," he said kindly as she walked on the bus, careful not to slip on the wet surface.

"Good morning Harry," she responded, and took her seat to prepare for the bus ride. Her motion sickness reared into full power the moment the bus took off. The mixture of skidding due to the ice and the sickening diesel fuel caused Alaina's insides to churn unpleasantly. She knew she was about to be sick. _I have_ got _to save up for a car_ , she thought as the gray landscape sped past her.

She let her mind wander to try to forget about the fact that she was stuck on a bus. She couldn't believe that it was only her second day of her new school… the second day of her new _life._ She put her forehead against the cool, frosty glass and shut her eyes to try to ease the sickness off. After a few more bus stops, the reached the school. The sudden stop did nothing to curb Alaina's impending nausea. She quickly walked off the bus, giving a quick wave to the bus driver. If she opened her mouth, she knew she would be sick.

Instead of walking to the school, Alaina moved towards the parking lot. She took deep breathes of the chilly air to settle her upset stomach as she maneuvered around the cars. The cool air was slowly calming down the acid in her body.

"Hey Detroit!" Alaina whipped her head around to see who yelled, her brown hair escaping from her hoodie. Mike Newton had spotted her from across the parking lot.

She inwardly groaned. "Hey Mike," she yelled back, but she didn't want to try to engage this early. She didn't need him following her around like a dog. He was nice enough, but he was overbearing.

Mike beckoned for her to come over to him. Alaina hesitated, but then realized he was just a few cars over from the Cullens. Although her better judgement warned against her, she started to walk over to him, yearning for a closer look at the strange family. She felt guilty about using Mike to get a better look at the Cullens, but the guilt didn't stop her.

All of Dr. Cullen's foster kids were in deep conversation around a silver Volvo. Although she couldn't hear their conversation, she could see the intense anger etched on Rosalie's immaculate face. She looked furious as her eyes darted between Edward and Emmett. Jasper had the same pained expression on his face as he did yesterday, and Alice looked annoyed, if not bored, with her sibling's fighting.

"Have a good ride with the freshmen this morning?" Mike said as she reached him. His hands were planted in the pockets of his faded letterman's jacket; he didn't move to hug her like he did yesterday. She must have scared that out of him with her immediate negative reaction.

"Ha, ha, ha." She responded, sarcastically. "It's really the highlight of my day…. Car sickness and underclassmen. You really can't get any more exciting than that."

"Why don't you just drive here?"

Alaina raised one eyebrow and resisted the urge to roll her brown eyes. "Because I don't have a car?"

"That's a good reason if I've ever heard one," Mike laughed, scratching the back of his head awkwardly. "Maybe I could drive you sometime -"

The rest of Mike's words were drowned out by the deafening sound of screeching tires. Alaina's breath caught in her throat as she saw an old van skidding dangerously across a large patch of ice. When she saw what the van was going to hit, she immediately lost her breath. _Bella._

Bella was leaning on her red truck, headphones in, reading a book; she couldn't hear it coming. Alaina could swear that her heart stopped beating at that very moment. She was going to witness Bella, arguably her only friend in this new town, get crushed by a van.

Alaina's eyes were locked on to Bella as the van made contact with her truck. With Mike at her side, they sprinted over to the accident. Her breathing was hard as her heart beat wildly with fear. Around her, she could hear the screams of her classmates and hundreds of feet pounding against the pavement.

They reached Bella and several students, adrenaline pumping through their veins, pulled away the van from Bella's truck. What Alaina saw shocked her. Pushing against the van was Edward Cullen. They successfully pushed the van away from her and she was visibly shaking.

"Bella!" Alaina cried running towards her. "Oh my God. _Oh my God!_ "

Alaina could hear someone yelling _I'm calling 9-1-1!_ "Bella are you okay?"

Bella weakly nodded. "Yeah, I'm fine," she said, seemingly confused that she was alive. "I think I'm in shock."

Alaina nodded. She helped Bella stand up, as her legs looked like they were going to give at any moment. The rest of the students started to swarm around Bella, which gave Alaina a moment to glance at Edward Cullen. _He was_ just _at his car. How the hell did he make it over here so fast?_

Edward locked eyes with Alaina, and gave her a strange glare. He looked equally shocked and furious. Alaina glared at him, completely baffled that the pair of them were in one piece.

"I think I hit my head," Bella said softly, jerking Alaina's mind back to her friend. She touched her head tenderly and winced.

"You might have a concussion," Alaina said. "Try not to move if you can. I think I hear the ambulance coming now!"

The sirens quickly reverberated in her ears. Alaina wasn't surprised to see the first responders here so quickly… she _was_ the police chief's daughter.

Within moments, Bella was strapped into a stretcher and was placed into the ambulance. Edward refused the offers of the EMT, instead, he walked over to his car and followed the ambulance.

"We are going to the hospital to wait in the waiting room. You coming?" Jessica asked, bounding over to Alaina. She was bursting at the seams, not bothering to hide her excitement. She couldn't resist seeing the chaos first hand.

Alaina shook her head. "I don't think ditching on my first week here would be a good look," she shrugged. Jessica looked pleased - one less student to compete with for gossip queen. Alaina knew that Jessica would be expecting celebrity status at school tomorrow by witnessing the event first hand.

"Got it. See you!" She said, racing off with Mike to their cars. She didn't want to miss one moment of the action.

Alaina made her way against the crowd up to the school; she felt like a salmon trying to swim upstream. It was like half the school was racing to their cars to head up to the hospital. Alaina wondered how many of those students cared more about Bella or the perfect opportunity to ditch school. She had a shrewd suspicion it was the latter.

With how fast the incident in the parking lot went, she was surprised she still had a few minutes to spare before her first class started. She took her seat towards the back of the room and placed her tattered copy of _Wuthering Heights_ on her desk. She drummed her long fingers rhythmically on her desk as she waited for class to begin.

"Good morning, Mr. Hale. So glad to see you on time today," Mrs. Crawford said as Jasper walked into the classroom.

"Wouldn't miss your class for the world, Mrs. Crawford," he drawled in his southern accent, grinning a brilliant grin at her. His perfect, diamond white teeth sparkled unnaturally under the flourescent lights of the classroom. His face had the same layer of pain as it did the day before, but Alaina could also sense concern on his beautiful features as well.

"Alaina," he greeted her, taking his seat.

"Hi Jasper," she returned, reveling in the opportunity to angle herself towards him. She mentally kicked herself for being awkwardly silent around him. She had always been a bit socially challenged, but she couldn't help but think that this magnified when she was around the Cullens.

"You look worried," he posed, looking at her curiously. He cocked one eyebrow as if trying to read her, but almost instantly reverted back to the pained expression that was on his face from yesterday.

"I am," Alaina responded, her heart aching. "I'm just worried about Bella. It's been a… weird morning." Alaina was wondering why he was even in class. _Edward is his brother - isn't he worried about_ him?

"I'm sure Bella will be fine," he said, his expression now unreadable. The tone of his voice made it clear that their conversation was over. He turned to the front of the classroom, waiting for Mrs. Crawford to start her lesson.

Alaina was paying no attention - none of the students were. Even during Mrs. Parker's attempt at a lecture, there was a small hum of whispering enveloping the classroom.

"Really?" Mrs. Crawford said as she dramatically threw her book onto her desk. The class jumped in surprise. Her baubled scarf jingled with annoyance as she rubbed her temples. "It's no use today. Your homework is on the board. Please use the rest of the class as a study hall. I expect you all to be one hundred percent focused tomorrow after all this commotion dies down."

The class instantly erupted in chatter. Alaina quickly glanced expectantly over to Jasper, hoping he would talk to her, but he stayed glued to his seat and working on his homework. Alaina knew that he wouldn't be speaking with her, so she silently started her homework as well.

The rest of her morning classes were still buzzing with the events this morning and many of the teachers, like Mrs. Crawford, gave up on their lessons for the day, as they knew they would lose the good fight competing with high school gossip. Alaina was nervous about lunch; her classes only had a handful of students each, so she was worried that she was going to have to sit alone. Walking into the cafeteria, she was relieved to see Angela sitting at an empty table.

"Angela!" Alaina said, walking over to the table. Angela looked and and smiled her kind smile back at her.

"I thought I was going to be here alone! There was only one other person in my art class." She moved her backpack off of the seat next to her, which Alaina took.

"Same," Alaina said, pulling out her bagged lunch. "What a crazy morning."

"That's an understatement." Angela nodded. "Seriously... I don't know how much more this town can take. _Two_ new students and a car accident in one semester? We might as well get our own reality show."

They laughed together as they ate their lunches. Angela was so easy to be around; she was kind, almost to a fault, and Alaina didn't feel like she needed to put on a show around her. She never prodded about Alaina's past, which she was eternally grateful for. The silence at the table was comfortable as Alaina looked around the cafeteria to see how many students were gone. With only a few of their classmates peppered around the lunch room, it was too easy to spot the Cullens.

"Whoa," Angela said, looking at them as well. "Rosalie looks so mad."

And she was right. Rosalie's long blond hair was whipping violently around her pale face with every movement she made. She looked to be arguing with Alice, who still had the same bored look on her face as she did this morning. With Angela's comment, Rosalie snapped her head over to their table, glaring at the two girls.

"Did she hear you?" Alaina said, startled with Rosalie's glare.

"She couldn't have," Angela responded, but she didn't sound totally convinced. "She's across the cafeteria…"

The comfortable silence was gone and replaced with heightened tension. Angela looked almost afraid to speak, and Alaina's mind was occupied with trying to read the Cullen's. Why was Rosalie so obviously angry at her siblings? And why was she fighting with Alice?

The lunch bell rang through the empty cafeteria, causing both girls to jump.

"I'll see you in gym," Angela said as they went their separate ways. She was speaking quietly now, neither of them totally convinced that Rosalie couldn't hear their conversation.

Biology came and went in the same manner that her morning classes did. Mr. Banner didn't bother trying to teach; he simply threw on a movie about mitosis… perhaps the most boring movie of all time. Alaina hated science so it was truly a test of her strength to pay attention to the movie. She found herself doodling absentmindedly in the margins of her notebook. Pretty soon, the entire page was filled with mindless drawings and she sighed, irritated with herself. _This is why you're bad at science_ she thought to herself. _You need to pay attention._

The bell finally rang, after what seemed like hours of learning about cells. Alaina couldn't have been more grateful that she was headed to P.E. Coach Clapp mentioned previously that they would be starting volleyball and it was hard to contain her excitement, even with her worry about Bella and Edward. Volleyball was _her_ sport; she had played since she was in elementary school, and she was looking forward to blowing off some steam.

She walked into the locker room and quickly changed. Meeting up with Angela, the two girls walked over to the left side of the gym, ready for the warm up.

"I _hate_ running," Angela said, obvious distaste in her tone.

"Me too," Alaina responded earnestly. Although she enjoyed sports, she just couldn't understand how people love to run. It felt like torture.

"We should stick together," Angela said and Alaina nodded quickly.

"Should we stretch?" Alaina asked.

Angela was already moving to sit down on the gymnasium floor. "Maybe next time," she said, laughing. Alaina followed suit. "Besides, it's prime people watching."

And she was right. It was interesting to have a mixture of the grade levels in gym. You could easily guess who was a senior. They had an indifferent, if not cocky, attitude as if they owned the school. Angela and Alaina watched the slow stream of students file out of the locker room, and her heart skipped a beat when Emmett emerged. She didn't like how he was showing off the previous day in gym, but it was almost impossible not to find him attractive. She nervously tugged on the hem of her uniform, becoming hyper aware of all the places where it fit too tightly on her curvy body.

Coach Clapp blew his whistle, signaling the start of class. Alaina helped Angela up from her seated position and waited for the next whistle to start running.

"Alright guys, we are starting volleyball. We don't have many students today, but we should have enough for two teams to play a game or two. We will review the rules tomorrow, but as you are all upperclassmen, I'm trusting that you at least remember the basics. I want you all to count off by 2s - no moving your place in line Miss O'Brien - this is how we will divide you into teams. Once the warm up is over, find a partner from your team and start warming up by passing to each other. Got it?"

The class mumbled their response. "Good. Mr. Cullen, start off with 'one.'"

He obliged in a very deep, bass voice. Although Alaina heard him speak the day before, she was still awestruck with how perfect and almost melodious his low voice was.

Angela nudged her in her ribs and Alaina was transported back to reality. She realized she was staring at him and her face flushed scarlet.

Angela mouthed the word "one" which Alaina then said aloud. It hit her - she would be on Emmett's team.

"Thanks, Angela," Alaina said, as the counting was done. "I completely spaced out."

"What are friends for?" She said kindly, nudging her gently.

They took their place to start the warm up. Coach Clapp blew his whistle, and they all started running. Emmett once again, was the first one to finish each lap. His athleticism was undeniable. For being such a large guy, he moved with a strange, even enticing, grace.

Once the warm up was complete, Alaina felt a wave of panic wash over her. Angela was on another team, so she would have to find someone to practice passing with. Her heart rate quickened as she scanned her team; she didn't want to be social.

"Hey! New girl!" a voice said from her left. Emmett. He tossed a volleyball to her.

She caught it, and stared at him in confusion, not knowing what to do with his attention. _I'm so skilled at making great first impression. First Jasper, now Emmett…_

"You're supposed to pass it, not catch it," he said smoothly. Alaina blushed.

She tossed the ball up in the air and set it gently over to him. "I'm Emmett," he said, bumping it back to her easily.

She returned his pass. "Alaina. I also go by new girl."

Emmett expertly set the ball back to her. She waited until the ball was close, and then spiked. Emmett effortlessly returned her hit. The ball flew perfectly back in Alaina's direction.

"You're good," Alaina said to him. He smirked in response and Alaina regretted the compliment. She could see his ego getting bigger.

"I know." He responded, and Alaina rolled her eyes.

"And humble," she retorted. They continued to pass back and forth, and Alaina was getting increasingly annoyed. No matter how hard she spiked or how difficult her pass was, he never missed returning it. And perhaps even most infuriating was that he would only bump or set the volleyball to her.

"Are you not going to spike?" She asked, slightly out of breath. Beads of sweat were forming on her temples.

"I would hurt you if I spiked to you," he said in a condescending tone. Alaina's temper was rising. Her eyes darted to his bodybuilder physique. Even if there _was_ truth to that statement, she didn't appreciate his attitude.

"No," she said, spiking the ball particularly hard at him. "You wouldn't."

"I'm fairly certain I would, actually," Emmett grinned his perfect smile at her. His tone was cocky, and Alaina's temper was rising.

"Try me," Alaina said arrogantly. She passed the ball to him.

"I don't want to break your arms."

"Just spike the damn ball!" He returned it easily. Alaina set the ball back to him, provoking him to spike, which he did with so much power, Alaina was sure that she would be bruised down to her bone.

"Thank you," she said, trying to hide her grimace and save her pride. Emmett was right, but Alaina wouldn't never admit that to him.

A whistle blew. "Ones on the left side of the net, please. No more than 6 people on the court per team."

Alaina was grateful that their warm up was over. She scowled when her hand brushed her forearm that was the victim of Emmett's spike.

Emmett laughed as he made his way to the court and Alaina followed, noticing her expression. The game started and Alaina was feeling very confident. The game started off well; Alaina's dormant skill was evident and their team was playing very well together. Even the teacher was impressed.

"Good job, Pawlowska," he said as Alaina dug for the ball to save the other team from scoring. She was proud of herself; she forgot how much she loved her sport. Droplets of sweat were forming on her temple as she continued to play.

"Alright, let's mix up the positions please!" the teacher yelled to his class. A couple of the senior boys sniggered. "Your maturity is truly overwhelming, boys."

Each team shuffled their players around, and Alaina found herself by the net, right next to Emmett. "Don't get in my way, New Girl," he said as the other team began their serve. The volleyball bounded toward them.

"Mine!" Alaina yelled, preparing herself to receive the ball, but Emmett jumped in front of her to return it to the other side. She glared at him. He smirked in response, and she could feel her temper rising in annoyance. _It's okay. It was just one pass._

The ball came back over the net, and a senior girl passed the ball to the front row. The ball was set into the air, and Alaina poised herself to spike it. Once again, Emmett blocked her, returning the ball to the other side and scoring in the process. Alaina clumsily walked backwards from the net, frowning.

"Hey!" Alaina said, unable to mask her irritation. "That was mine!"

Emmett raised an eyebrow. "Oh, did I ruin an opportunity for you keep showing off?" He quipped cruelly as the game continued around them.

Alaina gaped at him. His comment stung and she couldn't understand why he was being so cruel to her.

A whistle blew. "Alright kids! Good game today, everyone. Hit the showers - especially you two," the teacher stated, ending class. He pointed to the two senior boys from earlier. "Make it a cold one."

The class started to slowly wander to the locker rooms and Alaina tried to stay as far away from Emmett as possible. Once in the locker room, she met up with Angela.

"You killed it today!" She said, giving Alaina a high five.

"Thanks Angela," Alaina responded, tugging her school shirt over her head. "It was nice to play again."

The girls started to walk out of the locker room together. "Emmett was being a bit of a ball hog during that second game."

"You noticed that?" Alaina said, looking at Angela. She nodded. "Yeah, it was getting really annoying, actually. He said I was showing off."

Angela looked puzzled. "Seriously? I don't think you were showing off at all… And Emmett is normally really kind and goofy. I'm really surprised he said that."

"Yeah, I wasn't a fan of it, to be honest."

"Wait, Pawlowska," Coach Clapp interrupted, jogging up to meet the two girls.

Angela gave Alaina a quick side hug. "Let me know if you want to talk about it later, okay?" Angela walked out of the gym while Alaina walked to meet up with the coach.

"You played very, very well out there today. You really are a natural. Did you pay varsity back home?"

She nodded. "Yeah, I played varsity my sophomore and junior year."

"Good deal. Listen, I know it's a long time to think about it, but I'm tellin' ya, I need you to try out for the team next year. We could use a tall attacker leading the team."

Alaina's couldn't help but to smile at the prospect. "I'll definitely think about it! Honestly, I really miss playing… It takes my mind of things," she trailed off. Coach Clapp raised his hand.

"Say no more. I get it. Just think about it and bring your A-game tomorrow," he said dismissing her.

Alaina couldn't hide her grin as she made her way to the gym exit, but it was quickly wiped off her face when she saw Emmett leaving before her. She frowned as she remembered his attitude in gym.

Alaina couldn't shake her mood for the rest of the day and through the bus ride home. She was so irritated with Emmett's cruel comment. _Where did he get the right to say that?_ But she was more mad at herself for getting as competitive as she did. She wanted to blend in with her peers and taking a gym class game of volleyball too seriously was not the way to do that.

As the bus dropped her off in front of her home, Alaina's thoughts drifted back to Bella. She was so preoccupied with Emmett's crass comment, she forgot to text Bella on the bus to make sure she was okay. Alaina cursed to herself, bothered that she had let Emmett occupy her thoughts so as long as she had.

She opened the front door and threw her backpack down next to her on the floor. She could smell the aroma of food being prepared in the kitchen, while her dad sat in his chair, watching the news. He looked exhausted.

"Hey Dad," she said, plopping down on the couch next to him.

"Heard there was a bit of a ruckus on campus today," he responded, turning to look at her. His face looked like old, tan leather. The lines on his face looked even more weathered than usual and his dark undereye circles looked as dark as a black hole.

"It was a little hectic today, yeah. Bella got hit with a car in the parking lot."

"So I heard. Chief Swan was beside himself when he got the call."

Alaina raised her eyes. "How do you know Chief Swan? Have you gotten arrested already?"

"Very funny," he said with a slight chuckle. "The interstate project is starting just a little ways from the police station. He checks in every so often on the progress. He's a good guy." _He's a good guy_. That was her dad's stamp of approval. Alaina had yet to meet Bella's father, but if her dad liked him, that's all she needed. "Is Bella okay?"

She shrugged. "I… I don't know, actually. She seemed okay when the ambulance took her away, but I haven't heard anything. I should actually call her." Alaina pushed herself up out of the couch.

"Before you go," her dad stopped her, turning down the television, "check in on your mother. She's, uh, not having the best day."

Alaina sat back down, her brow furrowed. "Did something happen?"

"Our lawyer called. The date has been set," he paused, his tone unreadable. "She's been working on your defence all day. It's taken a bit of a toll on her."

Alaina nodded and made her way to the kitchen, where she knew her mother would be. Her heart dropped in her stomach as she felt an inevitable panic attack coming on. She wasn't ready to face this… not yet. "Mom?" She asked, trying to get her mother's attention. She was hunched over the kitchen table, a pile of paperwork lying scrambled in front of her.

"Hi sweetie," she said, looking up and locking eyes with her daughter. Her eyes were brimming with sadness and she looked at least ten years older than she did when Alaina left this morning. "So, you've heard."

One thing Alaina had always appreciated about her mother was her bluntness. She was never one to beat around the bush with formalities or sugar coat things. Alaina nodded in response, her lip slightly trembling. Her mother was up in an instant and developed her daughter into a bone crushing hug. Another thing that Alaina appreciated about her mother was her astuteness.

Letting go of her daughter, she put her hands on her shoulders. "Just a few more weeks and this will all be over."

"I know," Alaina said, trying to pull herself together. "But that doesn't make it any easier right now."

Her mother tucked a piece of hair behind her daughter's ear. "This I know. But you are my daughter. You are strong. We _will_ get through this one way or another."

Alaina wrapped her arms around her mother again and listened to the rhythmic beating of her mother's heart.

Pulling away, she decided it would be best to change the subject. "Did Dad tell you about Bella?"

Her mother frowned. "Yes, he did… that poor thing. How is she doing?"

"I don't know, actually. I should probably find out. Do you mind if I go upstairs?"

Her mother waved her hand dismissively. "Just be ready for dinner."

When Alaina got to her bedroom, she pulled out her phone and texted Bella.

 _Hey - how are you feeling?_

Her phone started to vibrate a few moments later. She was surprised to see that Bella was calling her.

"Hello?" Alaina answered, shutting her bedroom door behind her. She didn't need her parents, especially her mother, eavesdropping on this.

"Hey," Bella's voice responded through the receiver. Alaina was expecting to hear her sound as if she was in pain, or at the very least, exhausted… but Bella just sounded bored. "Sorry for calling. I've been alone with Charlie all day. He's more of the "suffer in silence" type, so I needed to hear another human's voice."

Alaina laughed. "Fair enough. How are you feeling?"

"I feel fine. I don't even have a concussion," she said simply, but Alaina could tell there was another topic she wanted to talk about.

Alaina audibly sighed in relief. "Thank God. I was so worried! We all were."

"Yeah," Bella responded, choosing her words carefully. "I was just lucky that Edward Cullen was there…"

"It was the strangest thing," Alaina paused, not knowing exactly what to say to make her sound sane. "I have no idea how he got over to you so quickly. He was halfway across the parking lot by me and Mike."

"Right!" Bella said more animatedly. Alaina could tell this was _exactly_ what she wanted to talk about. "Edward was trying to tell me at the hospital that he was standing right next to me. I _know_ what I saw, but he was making me feel crazy."

"You're definitely not crazy. I saw him at his car, blinked, and the next thing I know he was right next to you. I mean, the whole moment was crazy so I don't know _what_ I saw… But still."

Bella was satisfied with her answer. "I knew I wasn't crazy. How was the rest of the day?"

"Well, there were a quite a few people gone from our classes in the morning, since they went with you to the hospital. You were definitely all anyone could talk about for sure."

Bella groaned. "Great," she said, honestly disliking the attention. "Tomorrow is going to be painful."

"More painful than getting hit by a truck?"

"Honestly, I think so," she laughed.

"Speaking of painful… How much do you know about Emmett Cullen?" Alaina asked tentatively. She looked down at her forearms that were starting to bruise.

"Why do you want to know?" Bella asked. She could hear the amusement in her voice. Alaina rolled her eyes.

"It's not like _that._ We just had an incident in gym…" she trailed off.

"Well, to be honest, I don't know him that well at all. I don't have any classes with him," she responded. "But I've heard he's pretty nice? I know Jessica has Spanish with him and she's said before that he's a bit of a class clown."

"Interesting," Alaina said, disappointed. _I wonder why he was such an ass to me earlier?_ "Just curious. It's not a big deal. I'll see you tomorrow, Bella. Try to stay in one piece?"

"I'll try harder tomorrow morning," she laughed. "Bye."

Alaina hung up the phone and fell on to her bed. She felt a weird mix of emotions: she was so happy to hear that Bella was okay, but she couldn't shake the annoyance of Emmett.


	4. Chapter Four

As soon as Alaina pushed open the heavy school doors the next morning, she knew the day would be chaotic. The buzzing vibration of yesterday's gossip was swarming around Alaina as she pushed through the crowds of people to her locker and the squeaks of hundreds of wet sneakers echoed across the hallway. She tossed her soggy jacket into her locker, grabbed her books for her English class, and slammed the door behind her. The sharp clang of the metal door caused a few faces to dart her way, one of them being Bella.

"Alaina!" She said, relief apparent in her tired voice. Jessica was standing next to her, still trying to pepper her with questions regarding yesterday's incident. When she saw Alaina, Jessica's beratement momentarily ceased, and Alaina couldn't help but to see a sense of annoyance flash before her eyes with the unwelcomed gossip interruption.

"Hi Alaina! So Bella, back to what I was saying -" Jessica said quickly, but almost immediately turned her attention back to Bella.

Alaina gave a small wave in return and walked over to Bella and Jessica. Bella looked physically and mentally exhausted, no doubt brought on by Jessica's hyperactive questioning more so than the car accident yesterday. Her deep brown eyes were framed by dark circles and her skin look dull and tired.

"Mornin' guys," she said, making her way to her two friends. "Bella, I'm glad to see you're still alive."

"Let's be honest, we all had our doubts," Bella laughed, shifting her long brown hair from her eyes. Alaina could see Jessica's mouth begin to open with another question, but Alaina cut her off.

"Hey, Jess, we are going to be late for English. Let's go," she said, motioning for Jessica to follow her. Jessica hesitated, but then nodded moving towards her. "See ya, Bella."

Bella mouthed a 'thank you' and Alaina and Jess walked away towards their English class.

"I can't believe Bella is back in school already! If I was in a car accident I would take at least a few days off to rest and catch up on homework and everything else that I have to do…" Jessica trailed off. Alaina nodded and made noises of acknowledgement at all of the right times, but Alaina was barely paying attention to her. She liked Jess well enough, but she knew she wouldn't never be that close to her.

They made their way to the classroom and opened the door just in time to hear the bell ring shrilly in their ears. Their English teacher, Mrs. Crawford, clapped her hands excitedly, her ever present scarf draped around her small frame. "Take your seats ladies and gentlemen, take your seats! We have a _very_ exciting class today!"

Alaina couldn't help but smile at her enthusiasm. She reminded Alaina of her art teacher in Detroit: loud, bizarre, and eccentric, but full of love and kindness nonetheless. "Let's go, let's go," Mrs. Crawford said quickly, gently pushing Alaina towards her seat.

"I'm going, I'm going," Alaina grinned, walking towards her seat. She sat down and put her books on her desk. Looking up, she saw that Jasper had been walking behind her. He took his seat as well and gave her a polite nod, his normally golden eyes a dangerous shade of black.

Mrs. Crawford's idea of a _very_ exciting class was reading a dramatic interpretation of _Wuthering Heights_ outloud. Luckily, Alaina wasn't chosen to participate, so she put her head on her desk and tried to follow along but he quickly found her mind wandering to Emmett. She couldn't stop thinking of the encounter that they had the day before in gym, and Alaina's heart gave an uncomfortable jerk, filling her body with dread. She knew she would have to face him again in only a few hours, and her mind filled with anxiety.

She could feel a pair of eyes watching her, and she knew who they belonged to. For once, she wished Jasper wasn't there... Because if Jasper was in school, Emmett would be in school, and she wanted to avoid him at all costs. Alaina turned to Jasper and locked eyes with him, and she felt uneasy looking into his black eyes. Normally, she felt relaxed, even happy around him, but today she felt almost scared. He looked _dangerous._ She found herself being grateful that he didn't make his usual small talk. The class finished and Jasper was once again the first out of the classroom, but Alaina was quickly behind him to try to avoid of Jessica who was nipping on her heels.

As Alaina became used to the students and her new classes, the school day started to roll by smoothly and she started to fall into an easy routine. Even during lunch, which she normally dreaded, wasn't awful since she had Bella. The only issue that Alaina had seemed to be Emmett, and she couldn't figure out why.

Alaina liked to watch Bella and Edward interact during biology. It gave her an excuse to ignore Mike's annoyances. Although Edward was back to trying to ignoring Bella, she could tell that he was drawn to her by his body language. He always angled himself towards her and when she spoke to him, it was like no one else was in the room. He leaned in close and wouldn't break eye contact until she was done speaking. It was intense, but Alaina knew that Bella craved those interactions, even though they were subtle.

As Alaina walked to gym class, her mind wandered to Emmett and how he treated her. It was almost a complete 180 to how Edward treated Bella. Edward was engaged and interested in Bella. Emmett was cruel, dismissive, and even intimidating.

Alaina stood in front the gymnasium and watched Emmett, already dressed in his gym uniform, warming up. She bit her bottom lip and contemplated skipping class, when she saw Angela waving her over. She inwardly groaned and tried to smile back.

"You okay?" Angela asked, jogging over to her. Her normal smile was quickly replaced by a frown and she studied Alaina. "You look kind of upset."

Alaina pulled her books close to her chest. She was determined not to let Emmett bother her, or let anyone even _know_ he bothered her. She walked into the classroom towards the girl's locker room. "I'm fine. It's been a long day. Save me a spot for the warm up?"

Alaina rushed into the gym locker room and placed her backpack in the locker. She grabbed her uniform and began changing, purposefully taking longer than she should have to prolong the inevitable. Taking a look in the mirror, she bit her lip, uncomfortable with what was staring back at her. She longed to look like the other girls the surrounding her at Forks High School: small, thin, beautiful. Alaina didn't think that her reflection would ever be that way. She was taller than almost all of her female peers, with thick, coarse brown hair and fell in waves passed her shoulders. Her curves were pronounced in what she thought were all the wrong ways; although she was curvy, her chest was small, so Alaina thought she bore a very strong resemblance to a pear. In short, she absolutely hated the way she looked, especially after…

A shrill whistle blew through the gym, jumping Alaina out of her thoughts and she quickly moved out of the locker room, jogging to take her place next to Angela to start the warm up. Coach Clapp blew his whistle once again to signal the start of the warm up, and the class began to run to the other side of the gym. Alaina kept up with the pack easier today, her athletic nature slowly returning to her. A final whistle rang and the class jogged over to where the teacher stood for directions.

"Alright guys," he said, clapping his hands together. "Same deal as yesterday. I'll break you up into teams and we'll go from there. Weber, Pawlowska, Jones, Miller, Williams, and Yorkie!" He yelled, pointing at each of the students. "You are on court one."

Alaina sighed in relief knowing she wouldn't be on Emmett's team today. She walked over to the court with Angela and she gave her a high five before taking her place, ready to serve the ball.

"Johnson, Brown, Davis, Cullen, Wilson, and Taylor, take your spots facing court one!"

Alaina kicked herself for allowing herself a moment of peace; facing Emmett probably would be even worse than being on his team. Coach Clapp tossed her the ball and walked over to the next set of courts where the other students were being divided into teams.

"Let's go Detroit! You got this!" Thomas Jones, another junior, yelled at her as she prepared her serve.

She threw the ball into the air and smacked it as hard as she could, causing it the soar over the next and into the back row of players. A few seconds later, the volleyball fell to floor, bouncing over and off of the court.

"Good serve!" Thomas said, pumping his fist into the air in excitement.

Alaina couldn't resist stealing a look at Emmett. His brilliantly pale face had a look of annoyance as he chastised his teammates for missing the ball. She smirked, and threw the ball into the air again. This time, she tossed it higher and jumped, making contact with the ball. Whipping through the air, the ball made contact with the other team. They attempted to pass the ball back, but because of the spin of the serve, the pass went into the bleachers.

Her team cheered her on as the ball was thrown back to her for her next serve. Alaina's team worked very well together; even when Alaina's turn to serve was over, they were absolutely crushing the other team, much to Emmett's increasingly vocal annoyance. When Alaina's team scored again, he groaned out loud.

"We need to get our shit together," he yelled at his team as they rotated positions.

"Language, Mr. Cullen!" Coach Clapp yelled across the gym, causing her team to snicker.

Tammy Wilson, a senior, was next to serve. The ball flew over the net easily, and was received by the other team. After two passes, the ball hung in the air, ready to be spiked. Emmett jumped, and hit the ball over the net. Two other players of Alaina's team tried to block the hit, but it slipped through their fingers and the ball headed straight for Alaina. She reacted and and dove to return the spike. She miscalculated the ball's trajectory and when she dug for the ball, she slid too hard, missing the ball, and brutally banging her chin on the concrete floor.

Angela was by her side in an instant. "Alaina! Are you okay?"

Pain rushed through her body as she pushed herself off of the gym floor. She winced as she rubbed her chin, but tried not to let it show on her face. "I'm fine, I think…"

Angela didn't look convinced. "Are you sure? I could hear your face hit the ground; you might have a concussion. We should go to the nurse."

"No, no, I'm fine. I swear," she said, trying to sound stronger than she felt. In reality, she was close to tears as searing pain rushed around her face. Luckily, the teacher interrupted their conversation with one final obnoxious blow of his whistle.

"Good job today, guys! Hit the showers - especially you, Jones," he yelled, and the students started to head to the locker rooms. Alaina was one of the first ones to change and dart out of the gym, and her only goal was to survive the rest of day.

The rest of her classes went by in a blue, a throbbing pain building in her body. She knew she would be incredibly sore tomorrow, but she didn't care. She just needed to get home: away from school and away from Emmett. The final bell rang and Alaina was incredibly relieved that her hell was over with… for today at least.

Alaina held her books tightly as she walked through the highway to reach her locker, the gym incident still on her mind. She wanted to feel mad, she wanted to feel embarrassed, she wanted to feel anger; she wanted to feel anything but the intense heartbreak that was sitting in her chest. She put her books in her locker and saw Bella. Trying to shake off her mood, she walked over to her. "How did you fare today, Bella?"

Bella groaned, slamming her locker shut. She turned to face her and Alaina could tell that Bella was just as exhausted as she was this morning. "If I have one more person ask if I'm okay, I'm going to lose it. I just hate this attention."

Alaina couldn't help but laugh. "I think you may be the only teenage girl in existence that hates attention." Alaina saw Jessica barreling down the hallway. "Hey, let's get out of here."

Bella and Alaina opened the school doors and walked out to the parking lot. Alaina could see the giant, old red truck parked near the front of the building.

"Did you drive today?" Alaina asked, raising her brow. After almost getting crushed by an old van the day before, Alaina was surprised to see Bella driving.

Bella nodded. "I know, I know… But my only other option was riding to school with my dad in his police cruiser."

"Say no more," Alaina laughed, holding up her hand to stop her friend. "I get it. Nothing like riling Jessica up by looking like you just got arrested or you have a police escort to school."

"Want a ride?" Bella asked as they reached her truck. Alaina started to shake her head no, but Bella interrupted her. "I really don't mind at all. It's nice to have some company that isn't so...annoying."

Before Alaina could answer, she heard a booming laughter ring through the parking lot and both Alaina and Bella glanced at the source of the noise, but Alaina already knew who it was. Emmett was standing at his car, surrounded by his siblings. He locked eyes with Alaina and let out another laugh. Alaina felt heat creep into her cheeks and Alaina could tell that he was laughing at her.

"I'm _so_ tired of him being such an asshole to me," Alaina said to Bella, feeling her stomach drop. "I'm really, really over it."

Bella looked at her friend sadly. "He's normally not like this. I don't know him well, but from what I've seen, this is totally out of character. Why don't you say something to him?"

Alaina leaned up against the side of the truck, and closed her eyes, obviously annoyed. "No, I think that will just make it worse. I don't want him to laugh in my face even more than he already is." _He's also massive, super intimidating, and could crush me if he wanted to._

She stole another glance at the Cullens and saw then in their car. A large red Jeep started to pull out of the parking spot, and Alaina could see it would drive past them.

"I'm actually going to take the bus today. I just… I just want some time with my thoughts." She adjusted her backpack on her shoulders and threw the hood of her jacket over her head. "I'm sorry."

"Don't apologize. I get it. Text me tonight, okay?" Bella said kindly, smiling at her. Alaina waved and walked quickly towards her bus, avoiding the large Jeep. She could feel more than a few sets of eyes following her but she tried to brush it off.

She walked even faster towards the bus, trying to will herself not to think about Emmett, but the more she tried not to think about him, the more he pushed himself towards to front of her mind. The wind started to pick up, blowing her hood off of her head and she groaned in frustration. She reached the bus just before the driver pulled the door closed.

"Rough day?" the bus driver asked as she walked up the bus steps.

Alaina tried to force a smile, but she could feel that it was more of a grimace. "You could say that," she muttered, sitting down in a seat towards the front of the bus. She took her backpack off and leaned against the window, shutting her eyes.

"People can be mean. Don't let someone control your day," he said, pulling out of the school. "I know it's hard; I see it every day. It doesn't get any easier, you just get stronger."

"Thanks Harry," Alaina said, her chest tight. She had been so overwhelmed with the kindness and generosity of the people she had met in Forks, but it was impossible for her not to let Emmett get to her. She was so frustrated with how mean he was to her for absolutely no reason, and it was like he knew exactly what to say to hurt her.

As the bus roared through the streets of Forks, Alaina couldn't help but to let a tear roll down her cheek.


	5. Chapter Five

The days started to become easier to Alaina as she became more comfortable with her new surroundings and her new classmates. As much as her heart pulled her to Detroit, Forks was (begrudgingly so) becoming her home. Alaina and Bella were becoming very good friends as the time passed, making her time at school bearable.

Even Alaina's parents were finding their place in Forks. Her mother was a principal back in Detroit and had found it very hard to find somewhere to work in such a modest town. Since the area was so small and there weren't many schools, there weren't many job openings. But there was a small, part-time administrative role in one of the local elementary schools that was vacant, and she quickly applied for the job. Getting out of the house had been good for her and Alaina could tell how happy she was being around children once again.

Her father had always been a very hard worker, and when the interstate project came to Forks, he jumped at the chance to be one of the leaders. The project was going according to plan so far and he was starting to become close with the local workers, and surprisingly, Chief Charlie Swan. Her father had explained that because the project had "a lot of moving parts," the police crew had to be involved to make sure the roads that they were working on were properly blocked off. Alaina couldn't have been happier that her closest friend's dad was becoming friends with her own father.

Today at school, Mr. Molina was droning on about genetics and Punnett Squares, Mike was whispering to her about the weather, and Bella was awkwardly trying to flirt with Edward Cullen. Overall, a normal Thursday in Forks, Washington. Alaina was doodling absentmindedly, ignoring both Mike and the teacher. She didn't understand biology, and trying to focus was futile; she knew Bella would explain everything to her later when they studied together. A pang of jealousy shot through her she glanced up at Edward, who was staring at Bella intensely like no one else was in the room and nothing in his entire life mattered more than her.

Bella had told Alaina that he barely talks to her, but she didn't see the way that he watches her when he doesn't think she's looking. She didn't see his unblinking stare. And she definitely didn't see how he positioned himself to be as close to her as he possibly could. Her initial reaction of jealousy was replaced quickly by sadness. Alaina knew she was different than the other girls at Forks, and it was blindingly obvious just how different she was when she was with Bella. Bella was tiny in almost every way and effortlessly beautiful. It was no surprise that almost every guy in junior year tried to flirt with her every chance they had.

Alaina felt like the polar opposite of her friend: she was very tall and curvier than she would have liked. Since moving to Forks, Alaina had started to gain weight and it was beginning to show. The boys in her grade tended to leave her alone in the way that they bother Bella. The only guys who ever paid her much attention were Mike, who could have a conversation with a dead tree, and Emmett.

Alaina's mind began to involuntarily wonder to Emmett, and she became annoyed with herself for even bothering to let him into her thoughts. The only issue that Alaina was having at school (well, only issue besides her biology grade) was Emmett Cullen. She only had one class with him, but that was one class too many. From day one, Emmett was extremely cruel to her, picking on her in gym, from the way she played sports to the way that she completed the daily warm up. Every time she saw him, a pit of dread filled her body and there wasn't one day that went by without that she didn't fantasize about skipping P.E.

Her days went by more quickly than ever, and she couldn't believe that she was already stepping off of the bus, waving goodbye to Harry, and walking into her parent's home.

"Hey, honey!" Her mom said happily, hearing her close the door behind her. She sounded so much happier than she had been just a few weeks ago. Alaina was eternally grateful that her mom found that job to distract her from the court case that was looming in the court case. The mere thought of it caused Alaina's heart rate to increase and fear spread through her veins. It seemed as if her whole life was revolving around this secret. She knew she should tell Bella, but it just wasn't the right time. She wasn't ready just yet.

Alaina's days started blurring together as the monotony of high school seeped through her life. Her morning routine of English ("Hello Mrs, Crawford, hello Jasper, hello Jessica"), French, History, and psychology seemed to pass by in minutes instead of hours, and Alaina found herself walking to Biology with Bella, making small talk. They walked into the classroom and both of their eyes instinctively looked over to Bella's seat, but there was no Edward.

"Where is Edward?" Bella asked, her brow furrowed. It was impossible not to hear the disappointment in her voice.

"I saw him at lunch," she said as the two girls began to walk to their seats. "I'm sure he'll be here. He doesn't seem like the type to skip classes." She placed her books on her desk and sat down next to Mike, who Alaina was pleased to find in deep conversation with Tyler.

"Detroit," he said with a large smile, pushing Tyler off of his desk.

"Hi, Mike," she said in response. "Tyler, stay. Don't let Mike bully you."

Tyler laughed loudly, shoving Mike lightly into his seat. "Yeah, stop bullying me."

The two boys continued their conversation and Alaina laid her head on her desk, watching the students file into the room, and Bella was doing the same, no doubt waiting for Edward… but he never showed.

"Alright, everyone! One of my favorite days of the year is here!" Mr. Molina, said exactly, clapping his hands together at the front of the room.

"Summer break?" Mike said loudly, causing the class to erupt in laughter. Even Alaina couldn't help but hold back a grin.

"Not even your pathetic attempt at humor could derail me today, Mr. Newton," Mr. Molina responded happily, quieting the class down. "Today is our blood test experiment! You will be working with your lab partner to find out your blood types. If your partner isn't here, please join another group - you can't work alone on this one. Find your groups and have someone come up and grab the materials."

"Got it!" Mike said quickly, almost jumping out of his seat to run to the front of the room. "Bella, you're with us!"

Bella nodded and began to walk back towards Mike's table. Her face was drained of all color and Alaina looked at her friend in concern.

"Are you okay Bella?" She asked as Bella pulled up a chair next to her, placing her head in her hands.

"Yeah, I'm fine," she said quietly. "I just hate blood. The look of it, the smell… everything."

Mike bounded back to their desks and passed out the papers and the equipment. "So, it says here we just need to prick ourselves and the put a drop of blood on this…"

"I have to go," Bella interrupted, grabbing my arm. "Alaina, I'm going to faint."

"Let's get out of here," Alaina said instantly, helping Bella get out of her seat. Bella was right - blood _did_ have a scent. The entire classroom smelled of copper and iron, and her stomach was beginning to feel queasy as well.

"Mr. Molina," Alaina said when they reached the front of the room. "Bella feels like she's going to faint."

Mr. Molina cautiously looked at the two girls. "Faint? Before you even begin the experiment? Ms. Pawlowska, your grade in here is dismal. If you don't learn your blood type -"

"It's AB negative. Can I take Bella to the nurse now before you have an unconscious student in your classroom?" She said impatiently, already beginning to lead Bella out of the classroom.

"Oh, alright," he said, dismissing them. "But if I find out you two didn't go to the nurse I'll-"

The rest of his lecture was drowned out by the slamming of the classroom door. "He is such a prick," Alaina said under her breath while they slowly walked down the hallway towards the school nurse. "How are you feeling?"

"Better," she said, color already starting to come back to her face. "Do you mind if we sit for a second?"

The two girls walked towards a bench outside of the gym. Bella sat down, leaned forward, and placed her head on her knees to try to stabilize herself. They sat there in a comfortable silence between the two of them, the only noise filling their air was the squeaking tennis shoes from the gym class next to them.

"Thank you," Bella said after a moment, sitting up. "I really appreciate you stopping everything to help me without even thinking. That really means a lot."

Alaina smiled and gave her a small, side hug. "You're my friend, Bella. That's what friends do. I'm just glad you're okay… who else would help me with my biology homework?"

Bella couldn't hold back her laugh. "That's very true."

"Alright, let's get you to the nurse," Alaina said, standing up. She reached out a hand to Bella, who gladly took it. The two began walking once again to the nurse when Alaina saw another student walking down the hallway. "Wait… is that Edward?"

"Alaina, Bella," the deep voice asked, coming closer. "Are you two okay?"

"Edward," Bella said breathlessly, grabbing my arm a little tighter. "Why aren't you in class?"

"It's healthy to skip class sometimes," he said, taking a step towards us. His golden eyes were filled with concern and they did not leave Bella.

"Bella almost fainted during our lab. I was just taking her to the nurse," Alaina said quietly, avoiding glancing at Edward. This was her first interaction with this Cullen and she was nervous that he would be as rude as his brother. Alaina was even surprised he knew her name.

"I can take her from here if you'd like," he said, his voice now warm. Alaina could feel his eyes on her and she glanced up to meet his. "Since I skipped class, it would give me something to do."

Alaina didn't want to leave her friend with him, but she knew Bella would kill for alone time with Edward. She gave her arm a quick squeeze and nodded. "Go for it."

Edward offered Bella his arm, which she quickly took, losing her balance. "Careful," he said deeply, steading her. Bella and Alaina made eye contact and Bella was trying hard to hold back her grin.

"Text me, okay?" Alaina said as she turned on her heel to walk back to biology. She could feel that Bella and Edward would soon be a couple, and although she was happy for Bella, she couldn't help but once again, feel desperately, painfully alone.


	6. Chapter Six

The end of the week was fast approaching, which meant that Alaina and Bella would be going to La Push with their friends, or more accurately, their lunch table. "Friends" was definitely pushing it. Bella had been asked to go to the beach a few weeks ago and she practically begged Alaina to accompany her with the rest of the students that sat with them at school. Alaina didn't want to go, in fact, she had been trying to think of excuses not to go for _days_ , but she soon ( _Against my will_ , she thought) found herself next to Bella in her truck while they barreled through Forks, Washington.

"Do we _have_ to go?" She whined as Bella drove to Newton's Olympic Outfitters, the sporting goods store that was owned my Mike's parents, which was their meeting spot. "Please don't make me go."

"You're being a little dramatic, Alaina," Bella laughed, pulling in to the parking lot of the store. "I don't particularly want to go either, but it's too late to back out now."

Alaina groaned, seeing Lauren and Mike already chatting animatedly by Tyler's van. Lauren acted as if she was the queen of Forks High who gossiped her way to the throne. She was needlessly cruel and willing to say whatever she needed to become popular. During lunch, Lauren would almost always give a snide comment when Alaina said something, so she tried to stay as far away from her as possible.

"I'm not riding with her," Alaina stated as Bella made her way to an empty parking spot.

"Well, I'm driving and there's only enough room for us, so no need to worry," Bella said, parking her truck. "I don't particularly like her much either if we're being honest."

Mike eagerly bounced to the two girls as they both got out of the truck. "Detroit! Arizona!" He yelled, jogging over to them. Alaina could see Lauren scowling as she turned around to talk to Jessica, stealing potent glances towards Bella and Alaina. "You guys are riding with me!"

Bella interjected, "Actually, I'm going to drive us. Hope you don't mind."

Mike rolled his eyes playfully. "Don't be silly! There's no use taking more cars than we need to!"

"My dad doesn't know you guys so he's just more comfortable with me riding with Bella," Alaina said quickly, shrugging. It wasn't _completely_ a lie, but she knew it would get Mike off their backs.

"Oh, okay," Mike said sadly, obviously crestfallen. Alaina knew that he wanted to spend more alone time with Bella but she was making it exceedingly difficult. "Well, let's get going then."

Alaina and Bella got into her truck, and the other Forks high school students began divvying themselves up into the remaining cars. Mike pulled out of the parking lot onto the main road, Bella following closely behind.

They began speeding through the hilly pacific northwest terrain, past the lush green trees and the salty air. Weaving in and out of the Pacific Northwest hills was nothing new to Alaina, but she couldn't help but to look out her window in awe. "I didn't realize Forks could be so beautiful," she said quietly, her eyes darting around as quickly as possible as not to miss anything. Detroit was about as flat as it could be and didn't hold nearly as much of the natural beauty that Forks had.

"Technically, we are in La Push," Bella said, pulling into the parking lot of the beach. "Forks _isn't_ beautiful."

"Maybe not," Alaina said as the truck pulled to a stop, a devilish grin on her lips. "But the people sure are."

Alaina glanced over at Bella who instantly blushed. "Oh, stop that," she said, rolling her eyes.

"I'm sorry Edward couldn't come," Alaina said shrugging. "He's obviously into you. Like, painfully obvious. It actually physically hurts me watching you two flirt with each other in bio, just so you know."

Bella perked up, as she did anytime anyone mentioned her and Edward. "You think so?"

"I mean, I've only told you that about 10 times already," Alaina laughed, sliding out of Bella's truck. "If I didn't know any better, I'd say you were fishing for me to talk more about the Cullens."

"It's just so hard to talk about them at school," she said, pulling into the parking lot for the beach. "I feel like they can tell when people are talking about them."

Alaina nodded in agreement. "Definitely. It's like they can hear across the room. It's super weird," she said as Bella turned off her truck. "I am sorry that Edward couldn't come though, Bells. It would have been hilarious to see you two try to flirt with each other outside of school"

And she meant it. As much as she felt a hot pang of jealousy when she saw Edward and Bella together, she also felt so much happiness for her friend finding someone that clicked so well with her. She just hoped that Edward would make a move sooner rather than later.

Bella and Alaina slide out of her old red truck and start walking towards the beach and Alaina couldn't help but notice how _easy_ it was to be around Bella. Although the two girls only knew each other for a very short amount of time, they clicked in a way that Alaina was so grateful for. Even in Detroit, Alaina had never had a friendship that felt so effortless.

"My two favorite new kids made it!" Mike said loudly, his arms wide open. Alaina could almost hear Jessica's eyes rolling behind him.

"We were literally driving right behind you the entire drive, Mike," Bella said with a slight edge to her voice, but Mike being totally unaware of any social clues, completely missed it.

"I'm just glad you girls are here!" He said, opening the trunk of his car. He started pulling out surfboards and wetsuits. "Let's not waste this weather!"

"That's a hard pass from me, Mike," Bella said. "I'm a walking klutz. If I tried to surf I'd end up in the hospital… again."

"I've actually always wanted to see a tide pool. I know they aren't super exciting, but you don't see many in the city," Alaina said.

"Well," Mike said cockily, "I know _all_ the best tide pools and I'd love to show you -"

"Michael," Jessica said sharply. "You promised me we'd go surfing! Come on!"

"Go surf, Mike," Angela said, a kind smile radiating on her face. "You can show us all the best tide pools when you guys are done."

"Angela's right, as always," Jessica said, her trademarked chipperness back in her voice. She grabbed Mike's arm and started to drag him towards the water. "See you guys soon!"

"Poor guy," Erik said, chuckling. "I wonder what it's like to be _so_ annoying. But if you're both so annoying, do you realize that you're even annoying?"

"That is the question of our generation, Erik," Alaina said, laughing. She glanced at the ocean and inhaled deeply. The salty, clean air was refreshing and the rhythmic crashing of the waves was soothing and almost meditative. Scanning the shore, she noticed two tall figures walking towards them. "Hey guys, do you know them? They look like they are coming towards us."

The two figures were boys about their age with long black hair and russet skin that was apparent even in the distance. Angela shrugged, "I don't know them, but I bet they are from the reservation that isn't too far away from here."

"Wait," Bella said slowly, her brow furrowing. "I actually know one of them. Jacob?"

The younger looking boy eyes snapped up and a bright smile enveloped his face. The two of them broke into a jog towards the van that the group was sitting in.

"Jacob's dad and my dad are really good friends," Bella explained as they were coming closer. "Jacob used to come over a lot when we were kids."

"Bella! It's so nice to see you!" Jacob yelled when he reached the group. He instantly enveloped her into a tight hug.

"It's nice to see you too! I haven't seen you since we were making mud-pies in Charlie's backyard," Bella said. "Jacob, these are my friends from school: Angela, Erik, and Alaina."

He gave a polite wave to the group. "This is my friend, Paul. We live on the rez."

Both Paul and Jacob were incredibly attractive, in a boyish, almost slightly rugged way. _What is in this water to make everyone so gorgeous?_ Alaina thought shrewdly, making a mental note to start taking her hydration a little more seriously.

"Erik," Angela said, standing up and taking Erik's arm. "Let's take a walk and let them catch up, okay? I also want to see Mike fall since he says he's so great at surfing. " Erik nodded and stood up to follow her.

"Are you here for good, Bells?" Jacob said, trying (and failing) to contain his excitement, sitting down next to Bella. Paul took a seat next to Alaina and she could feel his gaze on her, but she tried to ignore him.

"Fow now, at least," Bella said, shrugging. "My mom and her husband moved to Jacksonville for minor league baseball. Alaina actually just moved her as well."

"I could tell you weren't from here," Paul said, a satisfied look on his face. "I would have remembered you. They don't make girls like you around -"

"What Paul is trying to say," Jacob interrupted, rolling his eyes at his friend, "is where did you move from?"

Alaina liked Jacob already; he was like Bella in so many ways. They both were able to read their friends and make everyone feel involved and comfortable. It was a trait that not a lot of people possessed and Alaina appreciated them both in trying to bring her into the conversation.

"I'm from Detroit. My dad got a job working on the new interstate in town," she said, the half-truth rolling off her tongue almost too easily. "I live in Forks now, just a few streets over from Bella."

"You'll have to come up to town and hang out with us some time!" Bella said politely, smiling at Jacob.

"That could _definitely_ be arranged," Paul said suggestively, staring hard at Alaina. His gaze sent unwelcomed shivers and and down her spine. Her heart began to race and the last place she wanted to be was right next to Paul.

"I'm going to head to the bathroom really quick," Alaina said suddenly, standing up to walk towards the bathroom stalls. She could hear Jacob chasticizing Paul ("Behave!").

In the bathroom, Alaina glanced at her reflection. Her tan skin was blanched and she could see beads of sweat forming near her hairline, even though it was chilly out. "Get it together, Alaina," she said to her reflection, upset with herself for letting her past affect her so much. She sighed, leaving the bathroom when she felt herself calm town. When Alaina returned, she saw no sign of Bella and Jacob, but Paul was sitting in the van waiting for her.

"Where did they go?" Alaina said, beginning to feel increasingly uncomfortable yet again. Mike and Jessica were surfing (well, attempting to), and Lauren, Erik, and Angela were barely visible as they walked away from the van and along the beach. She felt incredibly, terrifyingly alone.

"Bella said something about tide pools and Jacob went with her," Paul said shrugging, raising his eyebrows. "It's just you and me, babe."

"Babe?" She spat. "You don't know me. Don't call me babe."

"Oh, come on," he said, inching closer to her. "You're the prettiest girl I've seen around these parts in a long time. You can't blame me for flirting with you." He draped his long arm around her shoulder, trying to pull her closer to him.

"Don't you dare touch me!" she said suddenly, pushing him away. Paul's hand shot back is if he just touched fire. He looked at her with his eyes open wide in confusion.

"Damn, okay," he said grumpily, taken aback by her sudden outburst. "I should have asked first…"

"Yes you should have," Alaina snapped, glaring at him. She could feel her temper rising and her heart rate increasing every second she was alone with him. "And for the record, I would have said no."

Paul gaped at her, but then a smug grin slowly washed across his face. "Hard to get I see. I like it."

"I, uh, don't feel well," She said quickly, jumping out of the van. "I'm going to go find Bella."

"Oh, come on, they will be back!" Paul said, catching up with her quickly. Alaina took a step to her right to try to make the space between them as wide as possible, but Paul was relentless, making sure he was a close to her as he could. She quickened her pace and audibly signed in relief when she saw two figures slowly walking towards them. Jacob waved at the two of them and Alaina could almost see him grinning kindly in the darkness.

"Bella," Alaina said breathlessly when she reached Bella. She tried as desperately as she could to be nonchalant, but she could feel her anxiety creeping to the surface.

"Is everything okay?" Jacob asked in concern. He glanced at Paul who shrugged in response.

"Yeah everything's fine. Totally fine," she said, a little too cheerfully. "Do you think you'll be ready to go soon?"

Bella furrowed her brow and tried to read Alaina. "Yeah, I'm ready to go when you are," she said.

A wave of relief washed over Alaina. "Let's go. It was nice to meet you both."

"Don't be strangers!" Jacob said, waving to the girls. Paul began to wave as well, but Jacob punch him in the shoulder. That gave Alaina a strange sense of relief; Jacob knew instinctively that Paul had something to do with this.

The two girls walked back to the parking lot in an awkward silence while Jacob and Paul walked the other direction. The beach crunched uncomfortably underneath Alaina's sneakers and she could feel the grittiness of the sand making its way in her shoes.

"Hey - wait!" Mike said as they were reaching Bella's truck. He jogged over, and an annoyed Jessica crossed her arms in irritation as she was left there alone on the beach, the waves crashing quietly behind her. "Leaving so soon?"

"Yeah, I'm not feeling well… and Bella is my ride," Alaina shrugged, the lie slipping easily off of her tongue. She wrapped her arms around her waist and stared hard at the ground.

"Oh, umm, well I hope you feel better Detroit," he said, the disappointment obvious in his voice. "I'll see you guys at school."

Bella and Alaina walked in silence to Bella's truck after saying goodbye to Mike. They climbed into the front seat and Bella roared the truck to life. She pulled out on the main road and they drove away from the beach in silence.

"Hey," Alaina said after a few quiet moments in the truck. Out of nervousness, she began to play with a loose thread on her jacket. "I'm sorry for being so socially… awkward. Paul was just being so touchy. I didn't know what to do."

"Alaina," Bella smiled kindly looking over at her quickly. "It's fine. Really. I didn't really want to be there anyway, to be completely honest. But can I ask you something? It's okay if you don't want to answer."

She involuntarily winced. Alaina knew this was coming, she just had prayed it wasn't coming so soon. But Bella deserved to know, especially after what happened at the beach. "Yeah, of course."

Bella paused, looking for the right words. "Well, I noticed that you get pretty defensive when someone touches you. Like Mike on your first day and just now with Paul. It's just… is everything okay?"

Alaina closed her eyes and took a deep breath. She could feel tears begin to well behind her shut eyes and she tried desperately to will them away. "I haven't been telling you the whole truth about why I'm here."

"It's okay if you don't want to tell me. I can tell this is a lot for you and I don't want you to feel obligated to tell me something you aren't ready to."

"Bella," Alaina was taken aback by Bella's understanding and compassion. She didn't want to hide this from her anymore. "It's a long story."

Bella pulled her truck down her street and began to slow down. "Well, would you like to spend the night? I'm not normally one for girls night, but I think Charlie would just about die of happiness if he saw you."

"I would actually really like that, Bella," she said, cracking a smile. Charlie was one of her favorite people that she had met at Forks; he was gruff, distant, and wanted Bella so desperately to have friends, that any time she would come over to their home, Charlie would buy them a pizza and begrudgingly let them watch what they wanted on television.

Bella nodded and pulled into her driveway while Alaina texted her parents where she was. Bella parked, and Alaina noticed that her father's car was parked there as well. "Why is my dad here?"

Bella shrugged and got out of the car. "No idea." Alaina stomach began to turn to knots. Finding her dad's car parked outside the police chief's home probably wasn't a good sign.

The two girls walked into the home and found Alaina's father and Charlie watching the game. Alaina sighed in audible relief. "Hey Dad. Hello Mr. Swan."

"Hey kids," her dad said, not tearing his attention off of the TV screen. His eyes darted around the television, watching the players run across the field. "Have fun at the beach?"

"Oodles, Mr. Swan," Alaina responded shrugging off her jacket and draping it over the kitchen chair.

"For the last time, kid, call me Charlie," Charlie said.

"Sorry, Charlie," she responded with a smile. She walked over to her father. "Hey dad, is it cool if I spend the night here tonight?"

"And dad, is it fine if Alaina spends the night?" Bella interjected, already knowing the answer would be yes.

"I'm find with it if the chief is fine with it," her dad responded, giving her a smile.

"Yeah, I don't care. Just don't make too much noise till the game's over. These players just don't know how to play anymore..." Charlie trailed off, shaking his head and taking another sip of his beer.

Bella laughed. "Yeah, we'll make sure not to party too loud. Good night dad, Mr. Pawlowska."

Bella and Alaina walked upstairs to her bedroom and Bella shut the door behind them. The girls climbed on Bella's bed and Alaina frowned. "I don't want to beat around the bush. So, my dad really did get a job over here for the freeway. That part is true. But something came before that to prompt him looking for this job."

Bella nodded while she waited for her to continue. Alaina sighed deeply. "The reason why we moved here from Detroit is because I was raped by someone from another high school."

"Oh my gosh, Alaina," Bella said, her jaw dropping. "I'm so, so sorry. Is everything okay? Are _you_ okay?"

Alaina gave her a half smile and shrugged. "Yeah. I mean, I don't want to go into specifics, but I'm getting better. After it happened I told my parents right away and they immediately went to confront his parents. His parents didn't believe mine and threatened to sue them for libel. I… I had a rape kit completed and it proved that I was telling the truth so then my parents and I decided to sue for sexual assault.

"His parents are powerful people in Detroit… I began to receive threats from his friends. I was ostracized in school. Even with the kit… even with all of the proof, no one believed me. So I stopped going to school. My mom, well, you know my mom. She knew something had to happen and she wasn't going to back down from these people. So she decided that we should move so that I can focus on school and we could prepare our case away from all of the threats and the toxic environment that my world became. So, that's why I'm here."

The two girls sat in silence as the weight of the situation hovered in the room. Neither Bella nor Alaina knew what to say so they just sat there in silence. After a few moments, Bella engulfed Alaina into a hug.

"I'm here for you," she said after pulling away.

"I know."


	7. Chapter Seven

" _So, where is my dance?" Bryce asked, coming up behind her, wrapping his warm, muscular arms around her waist. He placed his chin on her shoulder; he reeked of alcohol._

Alaina knew she was dreaming and she tried to will herself to wake up. She didn't want to dream about this again. She didn't want to wake up in tears and in pain...

" _You really think I'll be chosen for dance captain?" Alaina said, pulling away slightly so she could look at him. His bright blue eyes sparkled mischievously. She tried to play it cool and not let her excitement reach her voice._

Alaina watched this happen from above and screamed at her reflection to stop, to walk away, to punch him, to do literally anything but to let this unfold in front of her again.

" _You've been flirting with me all night… I think I've earned a kiss," he said. He pushed his lips roughly against hers and she could taste the stale beer on his lips._

" _I - I don't -" she tried to say in between his forceful kissing. "Bryce stop! Please! " She said, trying to push him off._

She couldn't bear it any longer; she tried to close her eyes so she wouldn't have to relive the moment where her life was changed forever.

" _Come on, you know you like it," he said, kissing her jawbone and moving his way to her neck. His hands moved to the hem of her shirt and he moved to pull it upwards. He snaked his fingers up her thighs._

" _Bryce… what are you doing?" She said, starting to feel sick to her stomach. His hands on her bare skin was making her flesh crawl._

" _Bryce, please… no," she said, her eyes starting to tear up. "Let me go."_

" _You're going to like this," he said, ignoring her. He pulled her skirt off…_

Alaina woke up in a cold sweat, her heart beating out of her chest and her breath short. Bella was standing over her, a look of fear in her eyes.

"Alaina, are you okay? You were having a nightmare!"

Alaina closed her eyes and tried to steady her breath. "It wasn't a nightmare," she said quietly. "Well, I guess it was. But I dreamt about the night that I was…"

"I'm sorry," Bella said knowingly, stopping her. "Are you okay? Do you need anything?"

"Do you have water? Or orange juice?" She said, noticing that she was lightheaded from the thrashing and the sweating during the night. Bella nodded and went downstairs.

Alaina turned to let her legs dangle of the bed as she tried to steady herself. Cursing, she closed her eyes tightly. _Get out of my head, you bastard! Stop ruining my life!_ Tears began to well in her eyes. She was mad at herself for not feeling strong enough to move on, not feeling brave enough to confront him. _This will be over soon enough._

"Here," Bella said, breaking her out of her thoughts. She hastily wiped her eyes with her shirt and gratefully accepted the orange juice.

"Thanks Bella," She said, taking a sip. She could already feeling the life coming back to her. Bella sat down at her desk and looked at her cautiously.

"I had a dream too," she started slowly. Alaina raised her eyebrows to notion her to continue. "Now I know this sounds crazy, but just bear with me…"

Alaina groaned. "Just get on with it Bella. You're not crazy!"

"I had a dream that the Cullen's were vampires," she said rapidly. "And I think they actually are in real life… I was doing some research while you were asleep and I'm telling you, they are vampires."

Alaina stared at her, her eyebrows raised. "I take back what I just said. You do realize how crazy you sound, right? Like, you have to know that you sound absolutely nuts right now."

"I know I sound crazy, Alaina," Bella said quickly, jumping up to get her laptop. She opened it, started typing furiously, and thrust the laptop in Alaina's direction. "But look at this. Everything fits. _Everything._ "

"Bella," Alaina said gently, pushing away the laptop. "I'm not going to humor you with this. There are no vampires! There's no way that's even possible!"

"You're my best friend," Bella said, grabbing the laptop and placing it next to Alaina. "Please just read this website. That's all I'm asking."

She rolled her eyes. "Ugh, you're going to pull the best friend card on me? That's low, Bella… real low," she groaned, grabbing the laptop from next to her. "The cold ones? Is that what people who are afraid to say vampires call them? Like Voldemort in 'Harry Potter'?"

"Oh my God, you're so funny," Bella said sarcastically, playfully tossing a pillow at her friend. "Keep on reading."

Alaina began to scroll through the website which was broken down by region. She was surprised to see that almost every large culture had a folktale about these supernatural creatures… and she was even more surprised to see that there was a specific page for the Pacific Northwest. She clicked on it and began scanning the page. "Extreme strength, blood drinkers, speed, cold-skinned, immortal, blah, blah, blah. Bella, I have to admit that the Cullens don't seem human. But even if by some literal miracle they weren't human, none of these fit!"

"Actually, they do," Bella said, shutting the laptop. She looked at Alaina seriously. "I know I sound crazy, but I'm serious… Almost all of them fit."

"I mean, I don't sit at their lunch table so I don't know for sure, but I don't think that the Cullen's drink blood flavored Capri Suns."

Bella rolled her eyes. "But have you ever actually seen them eat anything? They get food from the cafeteria, but I've never seen them put one fork to their mouths."

Alaina considered this, but shook her head. "We don't stare at them. How do we know if they don't eat?"

Bella ignored her and continued, "And the strength and speed. You saw just as well as I did that Edward ran over and stopped Tyler's van from hitting me. You even said yourself that there's no way that he could have gotten from his car to me that fast. And then how could a normal 17 year old boy dent the side of a van to stop from crushing me?"

"Adrenaline?" Alaina countered, but had to admit Bella had a good point.

"Think about Emmett in gym class. Is he faster than everyone else? Stronger than everyone else?"

Her mind started to spin to her first few P.E. classes. Emmett was easily always the first one to finish the warm up, and she had never seen him break a sweat. She involuntarily rubbed her forearms where Emmett had spiked the ball to her. She had bruises for _days_ and he did warn her that it he hit the ball he would hurt her.

"And the cold-skin," Bella continued, her voice dropping dangerously low. "When we had the cell lab in biology, I touched Edward's hand when I was handing him the microscope. He was cold as ice, Alaina."

Alaina chewed the bottom of her lip in thought. She knew Bella would never lie about any of this but it was still impossible to believe. "How could a group of blood-thirsty vampires seamlessly integrate into a high school?"

"Has it been seamless though? They keep to themselves for the most part. And you can't deny that they are all breathtakingly gorgeous. They _don't_ fit in. And how come the only thing they have in common are their golden eyes and pale skin?"

"I don't know Bella," Alaina said, starting to get frustrated. _This isn't possible!_ She thought. _Vampires aren't real!_ "Maybe Mrs. Cullen only wanted pale, beautiful kids to adopt."

"You know I'm onto something and you just don't want to admit it," Bella said in satisfaction.

"No, but I know you're _on_ something," Alaina laughed at her joke, rolling her dark brown eyes at her friend.

"I'm serious Alaina. I know this sounds crazy. Trust me, I know. But you know they aren't normal, and I know you're smart enough to see that there are more than a few coincidences here."

"Okay, I can admit that you have a decent case… but this is just impossible."

Bella sighed. "I know it is… but somehow this makes more sense than any other theory."

Alaina remained silent, but her mind couldn't help but wonder and entertain Bella's hypothesis. She would never admit it out loud, but Alaina could see it, and could see very clearly that the Cullen's were not normal, and were in fact far from normal. But she couldn't see them as dangerous monsters. There was just no way that any of them killed humans.

Compared to the weekend, the following Monday was exceptionally normal. Alaina and Bella were sitting at their table during lunch. Normally, Alaina tried to tune out everyone but Bella, but during the morning announcements, the principal stated that prom tickets would be on sale soon, so all hell broke loose.

Jessica was going to prom with Mike, although not without trying to ask Bella first. Alaina snorted when she told her; as if Bella would go to prom period, let alone with Mike. Angela asked her long time crush Erik to go with her, and he said yes. Lauren was asked several times but has yet to decide who she was going with, and Ben and Tyler asked sophomores. Alaina and Bella were the only ones who weren't going.

"Bella, Alaina, you _have_ to go to prom," Mike said bites of hs sandwich. "It won't be the same without you both there! We need the whole crew!"

Lauren audibly scoffed, but the table ignored her. "I'm going to see my mom that weekend," Bella said, picking at her apple.

"Come on, Bella. Can't you go another weekend. I mean, this is prom! It's the biggest day of our lives so far!"

"The tickets are non-refundable, sorry. And either way, school dances and me just don't mix. I think I'd even rather take a history class than go to prom."

"You are so dramatic Bella," Lauren said unkindly, rolling her eyes.

"Detroit, come on girl, I know you want to go!" Mike said, turning his attention to Alaina.

"I don't want to go actually," she said simply. "Being around a bunch of drunk people trying to dance doesn't sound like my idea of fun."

"But it's a tradition! It's a right of passage!"

"I'll regret it for the rest of my years, I'm sure," she said sarcastically, ending the conversation. Even though Mike followed them around like a very loyal labrador retriever, she knew he meant well, so she wanted to stop herself before her temper came out.

"Well, I for one need to get a dress before all the good ones sell out," Jessica said dramatically, trying to bring the attention. "I know! Let's go to Port Angeles! They have the _best_ shopping there! Let's go tonight after school."

Angela nodded excitedly. "Do you guys want to come too?" Angela asked Bella and Alaina politely. The bell rang to signal the end of lunch, and the students at their lunch table slowly started to disperse around them.

"Yeah, you totally should!" Jessica added excitedly, her eyes lighting up. "It would be so nice to have someone to give me, I mean us, feedback on our dresses. Please come!"

"Yeah, I'll go," Bella said. Alaina furrowed her brow. She knew that Bella _hates_ shopping and was confused with her sudden desire to watch other people try on clothes. _Bella is up to something,_ she thought. _She has to be._

"Umm, sure," Alaina responding as well, not actually wanting to go, but she wanted to see what Bella was planning.

"I still don't understand why _you_ aren't going to prom," Jessica asked, walking beside Bella and Alaina. Bella started to open her mouth to interject, but Jessica carried on. "It's not like you're flying to another state or whatever. Like, you're new here. You're the shiny new today, right? You could go with almost anyone that you wanted to go with. I just don't get it!"

"No one has asked me," Alaina said sadly. She didn't want to go because she didn't want to be put in a situation where people would be drinking, but she realized that the fact that no one had asked her stung more than she originally thought it would. "Once all the beautiful people get asked and people start looking for the scraps, maybe I'll change my mind."

Jessica rolled her eyes. "Don't be annoying, Alaina. You'll get asked - I know you will. But anyway, see you tomorrow!"

Bella and Alaina walked quietly to biology, the pain in Alaina's heart deepening with every step. _Would I say yes if someone asked me?_ She thought as they walked into the classroom. Alaina walked to her seat with a heavy mind. She didn't want to go, she knew that for certain. But why did feeling unwanted hurt so bad? She could feel tears welling up in her eyes so she put her head down on her desk and waited for Mr. Banner to start class. In that moment, she had never felt so alone in Forks. But with her head down, she didn't see the intense, concerned amber eyes staring at her next to Bella.


	8. Chapter Eight

"This one makes my butt look _so_ good!"

"Ugh, does this one make me look too fat?"

"You can see my hip bones in this one. I hate it!"

"I could see whatsherface from German class wearing this… better safe than sorry!"

"This dress is way too big. I'd have to get it tailored…"

Alaina found herself at an overpriced dress shop after school with Bella, watching Angela and Jessica try on hideous prom dresses. They nodded, ohh-ed and ahh-ed, and smiled in the right places, as they both wanted to be anywhere but there. _Why did I agree to go again?_ Alaina questioned.

In between dresses, Jessica peppered Alaina with questions about her old school. "So did you have dances at your old school?"

"Yeah, of course. It was just like any other high school," Alaina responded absently, flipping through a prom magazine that was easily a decade old.

"I mean," she said dramatically. "You went to an all-girls school. How could you have dances without boys?"

Alaina groaned. "Jessica, it's not like they locked us in the school twenty-four seven. There were a few boys schools as well that we would have extracurriculars with sometimes. Yeah, there were only girls during the school day, but there was still more than enough time to meet guys. And I like that blue on you. It looks really nice."

Jessica seemed satisfied with that answer and walked back towards the dressing room to try on another outfit. Alaina watched Jessica walk out in a hot pink dress and bright silver shoes. Jessica scrutinized herself in the mirror, playing where her posture to make herself look as thin as possible. _That dress wouldn't fit me in a million years,_ she thought sadly. She became acutely aware of how her hips uncomfortably fit in her too tight jeans. _Nothing in this shop would fit me._

"I would have to get this taken in, obviously, but what do you think?"

Alaina stared at the dress thoughtfully and cocked her head. "Hmm," she said. "I think I like the blue one better. It was better for your complexion and it brought our your eyes. Mike looks better in blue, anyways."

Jessica nodded. "I'm glad you're here - you're _so_ right. Bella? What do you think?"

Bella glanced over at Jessica, obviously broken out of her thoughts. "Uhm, it looks nice I guess."

"You said that about the last three dresses," Angela said, walking out of the fitting room in a deep red silk gown. She looked absolutely stunning. "You really aren't in to this, are you?"

"No," Bella admitted sheepishly. "I really just want to go to this book store. I'm going to head there now and meet you for dinner. Alaina, do you want to come with?"

 _So_ that's _what Bella was up to_. Alaina nodded and grabbed her backpack. "Yeah, let's go. Oh, and Angela? Get that dress. You look absolutely gorgeous."

Bella and Alaina left the dress shop and began to walk down Main Street. The wind whipped Alaina's hair wildly around her face, so she flipped her hoodie over her head. "This book wouldn't have anything to do about your crazy theory about the Cullens, would it?"

Bella remained silent, as she turned on her heel to head into an old bookstore, _Thunderbird and Whale._ "So that's a yes," Alaina mumbled following in behind her. Alaina walked down one of the aisles as Bella spoke with the shopkeeper near the register. The bookstore smelled of vanilla flowers and almonds, as all old bookstores do. She ran her hand across the old titles, stopping when she saw, _Spells and Enchantments for your Enemies._

"Picking that up to bewitch Lauren?" Bella said, laughing. She held a paper bag that contained a few large books.

"One can never be too prepared," Alaina shrugged, following Bella out of the bookstore.

The sun was starting to set, casting an eerie dark glow around them. "Did we come this way?" Bella asked.

Alaina paused, looking around. "Honestly, I don't remember. It's still light out, though. Let's try that way first," she said, pointing to her left.

The two girls walked down the street, talking and laughing, enjoying each other's company. They weren't paying attention to the street, and they definitely didn't notice the small group of men that began to follow them.

"So, in Detroit," Alaina said, laughing, "there's this parade that happens every year called Le Nain Rouge, where people dress up like demons and try to…"

"Demons, eh?" A deep voice interrupted, walking in front of them. The two girls stopped dead in their tracks. "Nice girls like you shouldn't dress up like that."

Another man walked up next to him laughing, reeking of stale alcohol. Alaina grabbed Bella's wrist and turned around to walk the other way. Glancing around her, she realized that they were nowhere near Main Street. She also realized, even more terrifyingly, that they were completely alone.

"Hey, wait!" another man in the group yelled, blocking their way. "We were just being polite."

"Get away from us," Bella said quietly, trying to push past the drunk men, but they started to herd us into an alley.

"Come on sugar," he slurred. "Don't be like that!"

Laughter flooded behind them, as someone latched on to Alaina's wrist. She tried pulling away, but she was pulled closer into the group of men. "Let go of me!"

Headlights suddenly flew around the corner, almost hitting the man holding Alaina, forcing him to jump back towards the sidewalk. The car skidded to a stop in front of the girls, and two familiar figures were quickly jumped out of the car.

"Get into the car. Both of you," Edward said dangerously, slamming the car door behind him, Emmett not far behind, moving from the passenger's seat. Bella moved quickly behind Emmett and took his spot in Edward's car. Alaina stayed rigid, paralyzed with fear.

Emmett walked up to her and placed his icy hands on her arms. "Get in," he said desperately, gently pushing her towards the car. The cold palms seem to shock Alaina into life. She turned around suddenly and ran to the car, jumping into the backseat behind Bella.

The two girls sat in a tense silence while they watched the scene play in front of them. Edward and Emmett walked up to the men slowly, deadly. They could head muffled words coming from the men, and then just moments after, they all backed away looking absolutely terrified. Emmett and Edward held their stance, almost cat-like, while they backed away.

"Are you okay?" Bella asked breathlessly when Edward and Emmett turned around to walk back to the car.

Alaina tried to respond, but no words came out. She gave a feeble nod to Bella in the rear view mirror. She realized now that she was safe, but her hands were shaking uncontrollably as if she was in Alaska with no gloves.

 _You're going to like this._

The memory flashed behind Alaina's closed eyes as she head Emmett slide into the seat next to her. She could feel his gaze on her, but she kept her eyes sealed shut, determined not to think about what happened.

Edward slammed on the accelerator, reversing dangerously fast and sped out on the road. "Are you okay?" he asked through gritted teeth. He furiously weaved in and out of the traffic at breakneck speed.

"Yes," Bella responded, her voice horse. "Are you okay?"

"No," Edward responded curtly, his tone livid. "Distract me, please."

"I'm sorry, what?"

He exhaled sharply. "Just prattle about something unimportant until I calm down," he clarified, closing his eyes and pinching the bridge of his nose with his thumb and forefinger.

Bella responded quickly, but Alaina was no longer listening. " _Bryce… what are you doing?" She said, starting to feel sick to her stomach. His hands on her bare skin was making her flesh crawl._

"Put your seatbelt on," she heard Emmett say quietly next to her, breaking her out of her thoughts. She obliged, clicking the silver buckle in place, her eyes still closed. She could hear the silver Volvo turn off and the door clicking open next to her. As if in a daze, she got out of the car.

" _You are so sexy," Bryce growled, his voice forceful and even hungry. He started to take his belt off._

" _I'm leaving," Alaina said shakily, trying to grab her shirt. Bryce moved towards her and grabbed her wrist. Alaina flinched from his tight grip._

" _Don't be like that, baby. No one ever says no," he said, pushing her against the mirror that was on one wall of the studio. "Besides. I know you want me. You've been trying to flirt with me all of musical and you wouldn't have worn this short of skirt if you weren't asking for it."_

"Alaina, are you feeling alright?" Edward asked suddenly, staring deeply into her eyes. It looked like he was trying to read her, his brow furrowed.

Alaina weakly nodded. She instinctively grabbed her left arm with her right hand, gripping it hard, trying to feel something, anything other than the wave of hysteric anxiety dripping through her body. She was too numb; she tried to control her breathing to ward off the most likely inevitable panic attack, but she could feel it bubbling dangerously close to the surface.

"Are you sure?" Edward said again, taking a small step forward towards her, still staring intently into her eyes. She could feel that he was trying to read her, but she did _not_ want to be read. She cleared her mind as best as she could and thought of nothing but her breathing. _In… out… in… out…_

"Yes," she choked out, no louder than a whisper. Her grip was so tight around her arm, she was starting to lose circulation. She intently focused on her grip, blocking out all thoughts in her mind.

Edward cast a meaningful look at his brother, but only for an instant. "I think it might be best if you took Alaina home."

Emmett shrugged, not noticing Edward's intense stare. "Fine by me. Let's go, Detroit."

Alaina nodded and opened up the car door. She could feel the panic attack inching closer into reality so took deep breaths to try to control her heart rate, but most importantly, to try to keep her mind empty. She didn't want to be transported back to Detroit. Not now. Not here. Not with Emmett.

"Alaina," Bella said, her voice shaking slightly. "Please text me when you get home."

She nodded to her friend and dropped into the car. Emmett walked over to Edward to grab his car keys and she could have sworn she read Edward lips saying _don't be stupid._ Emmett bounded over to the car and slammed the door behind him. He revved the car to life and they were driving away in an instant.

Alaina focused on her breathing. She couldn't lose control. She had to keep everything together until she got home. She was not about to lose it.

"You're quiet," Emmett stated. It was clear that he was waiting for a response after several moments of uncomfortable silence passed between them.

She shrugged, not knowing what to say.

"What, did we save you too soon? Wanted to show off your cute outfit to those guys?" Emmett asked sarcastically, allowing a small chuckle to escape him.

"Excuse me?" Alaina said slowly, finding her voice. "What did you say to me?"

Emmett seemed started by her outburst. He had experienced her competitive attitude in PE, but this temper was new to him.

"What did you say to me?" Alaina asked again, louder.

Emmett stared at her, stupidly. He opened his mouth to speak, but Alaina cut him off.

"You have _no_ idea what has happened to me or what I've been through. Ever since I met you, you have been nothing but cruel and rude to me, but with what you just said, now I know you're just some stupid meathead who knows nothing. Never, _ever_ speak to me again, Emmett Cullen."

 _Several miles away, Edward Cullen's mind was flooded with images so painful, he grimaced. He knew everything about why Alaina moved to Forks. Her actions outside of the restaurant now made sense to him and if he had a beating heart, it would be breaking for her._

" _Alaina," he whispered, almost silently._

 _Bella heard him say her name. "What? Did something happen?"_

" _I'm going to kill Emmett."_


	9. Chapter Nine

The next day at school, it was clear that Alaina was still shaken up from the previous night's events. When she was dropped off, she ran upstairs, and spent the entire night reliving the exact event she was trying so desperately to escape. Her dreams were filled with nightmares of strange men and stale beer.

Even now before the school day even started, her hands were still shaking and she was still on edge. The first bell rang and she was so started she dropped her English book. Sighing, she closed her locker and went to grab it, but saw another pair of hands reaching for it.

" _Wuthering Heights?"_ A cool, clean voice asked, although it sounded more like a statement. Her long, blonde hair was curled perfectly and she looked as if she just stepped off of a runway in Paris. "You're in English with my brother, Jasper. I'm Rosalie."

Alaina stared at her dumbfounded. _Why the hell was Rosalie speaking to me?_ "Uhh, yeah. We sit next to each other," she said stupidly, too intimidated to even look her in the eyes for more than a few moments. Her beauty was indescribable, and Alaina felt wrong just standing next to her. "I'm Alaina."

"I know," she said simply. "To get to the point, my brothers told me about what happened last night. I'm sorry that happened to you."

Her voice sounded sad and sincere, and Alaina wasn't sure what to say. "Thank you," she said awkwardly, accepting the book that Rosalie was still holding.

"I'll see you around, I'm sure," she stated, turning on her heel and walking down the hall. Alaina could feel more than one set of eyes watching her, no doubt just as confused as she was. The second bell rang, which caused Alaina to jump out of her thoughts. She walked quickly to Mrs. Crawford's classroom and made it just in time before the final bell rang.

"Alaina," Mrs. Crawford said seriously, her giant glasses making her look like an eccentric bejeweled beatle. "You were almost late for one of the best days of the year!"

"I'm sure glad I didn't miss it then," Alaina said, holding back a laugh. She took her normal seat behind Jessica and next to Jasper, giving them both a small smile.

Turns out, the best day of the year was the _Wuthering Heights_ movie from 1939, which caused the entire class to groan in unison, but Alaina didn't mind. She loved when teachers put on movies - it gave her time to think and her mind to wander.

The black and white movie shone throughout the dark classroom, but Alaina's mind was elsewhere. She couldn't stop the feeling of dread and fear in her stomach about last night. And the more she thought about it, the more questions she had. _How did they find us? How did they know what was going on? What would have happened if they weren't there?_

The thoughts were bubbling almost uncontrollably when a wave of calmness spread over her. She felt serene, even meditative… a far cry from how she felt just moments ago. She furrowed her brows and let her mind wander back to the terrifying men in Port Angeles, but the feeling spread over again. No matter how hard she tried, her brain physically would not let her think about something that caused her stress and anxiety. _Okay, that's it. I'm officially going insane,_ she thought, giving up, and succumbing to the movie that was playing in the classroom.

Soon enough, the bell rang to signal that it was time to change classes. The rest of the morning, Alaina felt like a zombie, just moving from class to class and not retaining anything. All she wanted to do was make it through the day, go home, and sleep.

"Hey girl," Angela said when Alaina sat down at their lunch table. "I'm sorry we didn't meet up after dress shopping."

She shrugged in response. "It's no big deal. Did you get the red dress? I'm going to take it personally if you didn't."

A sly grin formed on Angela's face and Alaina couldn't help but be excited for her. "Honestly, Eric's not going to know what hit him."

"Oh stop it," Angela said blushing. Students began to file in around them and their lunch table filled up.

"Guys!" Jessica said dramatically, slamming her tray of food down next to Angela. Alaina looked at Jessica; she hadn't been this excited since Bella almost got hit by Tyler's van. "Look at the Cullen table. Rosalie is _ripping_ into Emmett right now."

Their entire table turned to watch the scene. For once, Jessica wasn't dramaticized anything. Rosalie looked furious and was berating Emmett, who looked like a puppy with his tail between his legs. Edward tried to interject, but Rosalie instantly held out her hand to prompt him to stop talking.

"What's going on?" Bella asked, sitting down next to her.

Alaina looked at her in confusion. "I honestly have _no_ idea… today has been like the 'Twilight Zone' for me."

While the rest of the lunch table was gossiping about the Cullens, Bella and Alaina quietly talked together. "Rosalie normally looks like she wants to kill me when we make eye contact," Bella mused as they filed out of the lunch room towards biology.

"I know, right?" Alaina said, confused. "I have _no_ idea why she just came up to me like that. I wonder what it was about?"

"Honestly, I bet it was about whatever she was fighting about to day. Also, I see that you're avoiding Emmett," she said, changing the subject. "What are you going to do about gym?"

Alaina frowned. "Don't judge me, but I'm going to skip."

"Alaina," Bella groaned as they opened to door to the biology classroom. "Don't skip class!"

"Okay mom," she said, rolling her eyes. "And besides, didn't Edward say it was healthy to skip class sometimes? And Edward is _always_ right." Smirking, she walked to her seat at the back of the classroom, leaving a blushing Bella to sit next to Edward.

After surviving the rest of the day, Alaina closed her locker door shut and sighed. She watched the Cullens walk out of the front door of the school, and Alaina purposefully waited a little longer than necessary to head out to the bus. She didn't want to face them after the weirdness of today. She didn't feel ready to face anything.

After waiting a few moments, she walked slowly to the door and walked out to the parking lot. She spotted her bus, and began to walk more quickly towards it, knowing it would be leaving any moment.

"Detroit!" she heard, instantly recognizing who that voice belonged to. She picked up her pace, ignoring him.

"Alaina, I need to talk to you," he said, running in front to stop her.

"How did you get here so fast," she asked slowly, but she then shook her head. "Emmett, I told you never to speak to me again and I meant that. Now excuse me while I try to go home."

She tried to move past him so she could continue walking towards the bus, but he blocked her, his large stature towering over hers. "I know what you said, but I want to talk to you about what happened last night."

"Cool," she said sarcastically. "I don't want to talk to you. Now you're going to make me miss the bus, so if you don't mind…"

She didn't finish her sentence. Before the words escaped her mouth, she saw the bus inching forward and the door closing firmly shut. "Are you kidding me?!" she yelled, louder than intended.

"Let me drive you home," he said simply, turning on his heel to walk to his car. "You get motion sick on the bus anyway."

"One," she said, turning to glare at him. "You're not going to drive me home. I'd rather ask Bella or literally anyone else. And two. How did you know I got car sick?"

He shrugged his shoulders and continued to walk. "It looks like Bella is leaving now. And Mike, Jessica, and Angela left too. I guess I'm your only option… unless you want to ask Lauren for a ride?"

Alaina's jaw dropped. "You stalled so I would be forced to ask you for a ride, didn't you."

"Maybe," he said, a sly grin on his face. "I just want to talk, okay? I drive the red Jeep, right over there." He pointed to a brand new, cherry red Jeep Wrangler. Despite herself, Alaina couldn't help but to admit that it was a beautiful car.

"Fine," she said, defeated. She walked over to his car and opened the door. She climbed in and furrowed her brow. "What is up with this seat belt - err, belts?"

The seat belts were numerous, and they almost looked like a harness. Emmett's laugh boomed throughout the car. "It's for off-roading. Here," he said, moving towards her, "let me help you."

"I can put my own seat belt on myself, thanks," she started, but he wasn't listening. He slid the harness over her shoulders and she heard a faint click on a belt buckle.

"So since you manipulated me into your car and I'm now literally strapped in," she said, while he turned the key in the Jeep's ignition, causing the car to roar to life. "When you murder me, please tell my parents I love them."

"Very funny," he said, pulling out of the parking lot. Turning right onto the main road, he began weaving in and out of traffic, just like Edward did the night before.

"Hey, you're going the wrong way. My house is south of here," Alaina said, turning to face him.

"I know," he stated, turning on his blinker and pulling into another parking lot. "We're getting ice cream."

"Oh my God, Emmett, just take me home!" She yelled, but Emmett was already helping her unstrap her harness.

"Just wait here, I'll be right back," he said, leaving her standing next to the red Jeep. Needless to say, she was absolutely furious. _First, he's cruel. Then, he saves me. Next, he's an asshole. Now he's kidnapped me. His mood swings are giving me whiplash._

A few moments later, Emmett emerged from the ice cream store, holding a giant vanilla cone with rainbow sprinkles - Alaina's favorite. "At least you have good takes in ice cream," she said, accepting the ice cream against her better judgement.

"I'm sorry for not being honest with you," he said, leaning against his car. "I just wanted to say that I know what you've been through and what I said last night was wrong."

"Emmett, you have no idea what I've been through," she spat, anger dripping on every word. She glared at him in animosity, expecting him to recoil from her words, but he stared at her blankly.

"Actually, I do," he said simply, shrugging. She whipped around quickly to face him, fire in her eyes. When she saw a smug grin on his face she clenched her fists. She could feel her temper rising.

"And tell me how exactly you could possibly know?" she said dangerously, raising her eyebrows at him.

"Let's walk," he said, walking past his Jeep. "There's a trail nearby."

Alaina scoffed. "Why would I want to go on a walk with you? I want you to take me home!"

"I'll explain everything if you walk with me," he said calmly. "If you still hate me after we talk, I promise that I will respect your wishes and never speak to you again. But please just give me a chance."

She stared at him and noticed a small hint of sadness in his golden eyes. She wanted to say "no." Hell, she wanted to slap his face. But against her better judgement, she heard the word, "Fine," come out of her mouth, and they were on their way to the woods.

"So, are you going to explain how you think you know everything about me?" she said angrily, licking her ice cream cone to try to cool down. She realized that she was alone in the woods with someone who looked like he could snap her in two, and she needed to try to control her temper.

"Edward told me," he said simply and he didn't elaborate further. She could tell he was enjoying this game of cat and mouse, which infuriated her even more.

Alaina scoffed. "Well, I sure as hell didn't tell him. I've barely said two words to the guy. How would he know?"

"He read your mind."

"Oh, okay. Sure Emmett," she said sarcastically. "Now that I know that I'm completely surrounded by lunatics, I'm going to go home before I'm murdered."

"I'm completely serious," he said, his eyes burning in to her. "How did you think we knew where you were in Port Angeles? Luck?"

Alaina contemplated that for a moment. "No, I didn't think it was luck. I think it's stalking."

Emmett groaned, "I know this sounds crazy, but I can prove it," he said, taking a step towards her. "His name is Bryce, isn't it?"

"How… how did you know that?" she said quietly, almost in a state of shock. "I didn't even tell Bella that…"

"Edward _can_ read minds… and even though you tried to shut yours off that night, he still figured out what happened. We found you because we could hear the disgusting things those men were thinking about you and Bella. When people are drunk, they apparently think very loudly."

"I can't… I still don't…" Alaina said, taking a step backwards from him. _How did he know his name? Was it in public record?_

"And you should listen to Bella. Her theory is correct," he said, pausing. He looked at her expectantly.

If Emmett would have said that five minutes ago, Alaina would have laughed in his face. _Vampires don't exist,_ she would have said before running back to civilization and calling Charlie to arrest him and take him to a psychiatric ward. But now… now she wasn't so sure. "Prove it," she said in a small voice, almost not wanting him to, afraid of what she will see.

"You read that we have extreme strength, right?" He asked. He walked over to an old log that was easily a several hundred pounds. Grabbing a knot in the tree, he picked it up one handed, no strain in his face. Alaina's jaw dropped, but she tried to convince herself that it was only because he was naturally strong.

"Not convinced?" he said, enjoying this game even more. "Speed. All of us have extreme speed and agility." In an instant, he sprinted so fast to the nearest tree to Alaina that he looked like a blur. In seconds he was at the top.

"What is happening…" Alaina whispered, frozen to where she was standing, afraid to move.

Emmett jumped off the branch that he was on and gracefully fell to the forest floor. "We also have unmatched hearing." He took another step towards her. "Take my hand."

She stared at him and lifted her arm to reach his. He gently grasped her palm and a gasp escaped her lips. "Ice cold," she breathed.

"Say it outloud, Alaina," he said, still holding her hand. "Say what you think I am."

She locked eyes with him and stared into his golden orbs for several seconds, to scared to speak. He didn't blink once. She tried to muster up the courage to speak. "Vampire," she murmured, barely making a sound.

"Now," he said seriously. "Ask me what we eat."

Alaina shook her head no, her eyebrows furrowed in fear.

"Our kind kills humans, and I need you to be aware of that," he said slowly, cautiously. "But you also need to know that our clan, my siblings and my adoptive parents, we don't. We hunt on animals. That's what makes our eyes this color."

She thought about this for a moment. _The only thing they have in common is their pale skin and their golden eyes_ she remembered saying to Bella just days ago.

"Are you afraid?" he asked hesitantly.

"Yes," she said instantly, barely above a whisper. "Why are you telling me this?"

"I'm," he started, pausing to find the right words. "I'm drawn to you. At first I was drawn to your blood. Please don't take this the wrong way, but you smell amazing… like coffee, vanilla, oranges and cedarwood. The moment you stepped into the the school, I could smell you. Alice can see the future and saw you were coming… if she hadn't warned me, my instincts would have taken over…"

"And you would have killed me?" she said casually, trying to break the tension of the heavy conversation, but Emmett was completely serious.

"It would have been hard not to," he admitted, still boring into her eyes. "Everything about us is appealing to humans: the way we look, the way we walk, even the way we smell. So I knew I needed to try to draw you away from me. That's why I was so mean to you in gym. I wanted you to hate me so it would have been easier for me to distance myself from you. But I won't hurt you. I'll never hurt you."

Alaina didn't know what she was expecting, but it surely wasn't that. Her mind flashed to her encounters with Emmett. He was needlessly cruel, dismissive, and knew exactly what to say to make her feel worthless. Tears began to well up in her eyes and she tried to will them away. She felt the ice cream come, forgotten in her hand, beginning to melt over her fingers.

"I'm sorry, Alaina," he said, heartache filling his features. "I thought it would be easier this way, but I was being selfish. I see that now. And I had no idea how much it would affect you. I'm so, so sorry. If you can't forgive me, I understand. But I… I hope you do."

A tear escaped Alaina's eyes, and she could have sworn Emmett's eyes followed that small drop of water hitting the ground. The ice cream, now almost completely melted, slid slowly off the cone and hit the ground sloppily. Without warning, a wave of emotions hit Alaina like a giant wave. Her assault, Emmett's cruelness, Emmett's explanation, the lost ice cream… everything washed over her and a sob escaped her lips.

In an instant, she found herself enveloped in a pair of cool, muscular arms, weeping into his chest, never wanting to let go.


	10. Chapter Ten

"Honey, wake up," a kind voice soothed softly, gently prodding Alaina awake. Her large brown eyes slowly fluttered opened to see the familiar face of her mother beaming down at her. Her aging face looked tired, but the way her mom looked at her always made Alaina feel so, so loved.

"Why are you waking me up so early?" she groaned, her voice foggy from sleep. Usually the shrill beeping of her alarm clock coaxed her out of bed, not the kind nudging of her mother. She sat up in her bed, stretching her arms wide above her.

"Well," her mother said slyly, raising her eyebrows suggestively. "You have a boy waiting for you downstairs."

"I'm sorry, what?" Alaina said confused, stifling a yawn. She rubbed her eyes to try to wake up.

"His name is Emmett and he says he's your friend from school. He wants to drive you to school today. Do we like this boy?"

Her eyes opened wide and she could feel her heart involuntarily beat a little faster. Alaina held back from her gut reaction answer of _no._ "Yes, we have gym together and he drove me home yesterday when I missed the bus. He's Edward's brother."

Her mother gave a knowing nod, familiar with Bella and her crush. "So, this Emmett," she drawled while Alaina got out of bed. "Tell me about him. He doesn't look like he's in high school."

"He's a senior," Alaina explained, pulling on a sweater and jeans that she layed out the night before. "But he's, uh, old for his age."

"He seems like a really nice boy, Alaina. He wanted to make sure we knew who he was before he drove you to school, and he has a great sense of humor. I actually heard your father laugh _before_ he drank his coffee."

Alaina froze. "Wait," she said, quickly throwing her long brown hair into a messy ponytail. "You didn't leave him alone with dad!" Her father was one of her favorite people in the entire world, but he did have an effortless time embarrassing his daughter. Pulling on tennis shoes, she raced downstairs, hearing a familiar booming laugh radiating from the kitchen.

"Good morning, sweetheart," her Dad said when he saw her rush into the kitchen. "Emmett was just telling me about how well you played volleyball in phys. Ed."

"Did he now..." Alaina said shrewdly, narrowing her eyes. Emmett's eyes were playful and a goofy grin was placed on his face. She could tell he was enjoying making her feel uncomfortable. "Well, we better get going."

She walked towards the door and could hear Emmett following behind her, saying goodbye to her parents. "Don't be a stranger!" Her mother said. Alaina groaned in response. She quickly walked outside to the car waiting in the driveway.

"I don't like surprises like this," Alaina said grumpily, opening the door of his Jeep and jumping in, making sure to put on the harness before Emmett unnecessarily helped her. "You could have just asked me if I wanted a ride."

Emmett turned the key in the ignition, causing the car to roar to life. "I could have, but you would have said no." He noticed that her parents were watching them from their porch, so he gave them a friendly wave before driving off.

"You're right. I would have," she said, her voice cutting with annoyance. "I can take the bus."

"You hate the bus," he said simply and Alaina groaned in frustration. She found it incredibly annoying that almost everything he said was matter-of-fact, and she hated even more that he was almost always right.

He began driving down the road at breakneck speed, weaving in and out of traffic effortlessly. Alaina gripped on to the leather seat, her knuckles turning white. "Can you slow down? You're going to get us killed!"

"Sorry," he said, laughing. He eased off of the gas and the car rolled at a more reasonable speed. "I'm not going to get us killed. I'm just not used to driving with a human. You're actually the first human I've ever driven."

"Are you serious?" She asked, gaping at him.

He raised an eyebrow. "Why are you surprised?"

She struggled to articulate the words racing around in her brain. "I just… I don't know," she said, furrowing her own brow in frustration.

"Well, it's true," he said, stopping at a red light. "I'd like you to meet my adoptive parents tonight."

She blinked. "Well that was certainly an abrupt change of subject."

"They want to meet you," he shrugged. Alaina felt like he wanted to say something else, but she didn't push it. "Your parents already said it was okay."

"Are you kidding me?!" She yelled in annoyance. "Just when I thought you were okay, you go and do something incredibly irritating."

Emmett only laughed in response, and a silence filled the car. Alaina finally had a moment of thought and couldn't believe she was in Emmett's car, driving to school. Just a week ago, she cried over his cruelty, and now she could feel the iciness towards him slowly melting away… and she didn't know if she liked it or not.

"You seem nervous," Emmett said, pulling into the high school's parking lot, pulling Alaina out of her thoughts.

"Well aren't you observant," she said rolling her eyes, but he was right. He remained silent, waiting for her to answer. "It's just going to be weird when people see that you drove me to school."

"Well… We're friends, right?" He said, maneuvering through the sea of cars.

Alaina thought for a moment before responding, trying to ignore the pain in her chest on hearing the word 'friend.'. "Well, you've been a massive jerk to me in class, said some pretty rude, ignorant things to me, _and_ basically kidnapped me…"

"But I did save your life," he said, pulling into his normal parking spot. " _And_ I bought you ice cream."

She rolled her eyes, but smiled in spite of herself. "Fine. But let's not push it with the word 'friend.' We are acquaintances at best."

"I'll take that for now," he grinned. Alaina was about to inquire about the questionable 'for now,' but he interrupted her. "Looks like Edward had the same idea that I had this morning."

A familiar silver Volvo pulled in to the empty spot next to them, Bella in the passenger's seat. "It's about time," she said, a wide grin on her face. "Wait… does Bella know about -"

"Yeah," he said, reaching over to help Alaina remove the harness. She began to protest but he cut her off. "Edward told her last night."

Alaina bit her lip while she watched the pair walk into the school, Edward's arm protectively around Bella. She felt jealousy rise in her stomach but tried to push it down. "Is it safe for us, you know, humans, to know about your secret?" She slid out of the Jeep and Emmett followed suit.

Emmett paused, a guilty look on his face. "Actually, no… it's sort of not allowed. But the cat's already out of the bag right?"

"I just don't want you guys to get in trouble… or whatever the consequence would be."

"Oh, Detroit," he said, wrapping his strong arm around her shoulders and giving her a small squeeze before dropping his arm back to his side. "We're tough. We can handle it."

"Sure," she said, not enjoying the unwelcomed butterflies that were erratically flying around her stomach at his touch. She didn't know why she felt so emotional around Emmett in a positive way all of a sudden, but she knew she needed to stop _whatever_ this was. "I'll see you later."

Emmett waved goodbye and turned on his heel towards his locker. Alaina sighed heavily to try to collect herself and walked to her first class of the day.

Alaina walked in to the English classroom to fine Jasper already in his usual seat. He locked eyes with here as she entered the classroom, sensing her presence.

"'Morning Alaina," Jasper said, his southern drawl peeking out from behind each word. Alaina smiled in return, taking her normal seat next to him. "You seem happier today."

She glanced at him, her brow furrowing. "Do I?" Alaina asked, puzzled. She could feel nervousness starting to creep up through her body and course through her veins. She always felt like Jasper was appraising her, and she now knew she was correct.

"Mmh," he nodded."It's quite becoming on you."

Jasper shifted back in his seat and Alaina knew the conversation was over. She sat there dumbfounded and confused. _Today was turning about to be more interesting than I thought it would be,_ she thought, tapping her fingers on her desk. _I need to talk to Bella_ now.

The bell rang and Alaina spent the rest of her morning in a perpetual state of restlessness, waiting for a moment to talk to her best friend. When the final class period before lunch ended, Alaina almost ran out of the room and to Bella's locker. She spotted her long brown hair walking down the hall and she picked up her pace to reach her.

"Bella," she said breathlessly, catching up with her friend. "We _have_ to talk."

Bella looked at her, her eyes like saucers. "Trust me. I know. Did Emmett really give you a ride to -"

"Ms. Pawlowska," a voice snapped behind her. "Where do you think you're doing?"

Alaina stopped in her tracks, and painfully turned around to see Mr. Banner leaning against his classroom door frame with a bored expression on his face. She groaned, remembered she had agreed to work on an extra credit assignment during lunch, since her biology grade was abysmal. _Why today, of all days!_

"I'm coming to hang out with you, Mr. Banner!" She said in mock excitement, turning on her heel to walk towards her teacher.

"Can't wait," he said, beckoning her into the classroom. "Let's get this over with."

Alaina could feel the eyes of her classmates following her as she walked outside. The quiet, yet fierce rumble of gossip was almost impossible to ignore; Alaina heard her name on the tongues of her classmates just as much as Bella's today. She was utterly exhausted with the attention, but still relieved it wasn't as vitriolic as the gossip she endured in Detroit.

Emmett leaned cooly against his Jeep, watching her with a goofy grin on his face. His hands were in his pocket and the hood of his sweatshirt was pulled over his head. Her heart skipped a beat when she saw him and she tried to will her heart rate back to normal. She did _not_ have time to fall for someone, especially if that someone was Emmett Cullen. With that in mind, she knew she should turn around and walk to the bus and stay as far away from him as she could. She _knew_ that. But she also knew she couldn't stop her feet from walking straight towards her.

"You ready?" He said, his white teeth glowing. She nodded and opened the door of his Jeep to get in.

"I'm a pro at this," she said, swatting his hand away when he reached over to help putting on the seatbelt harness. "I don't need your help."

"Okay, okay," he said, putting his hands up in defeat. Alaina almost regretted saying that, as she realized she began to relish the fleeting moments of kindness presented by Emmett. "Let's go!"

The Jeep roared to life and Emmett carefully pulled out of the parking lot. The students were no longer trying to hide their gaze, shamelessly watching the pair move through the parked cars. Alaina's cheeks went warm, and she knew she was very obviously blushing.

Emmett roared with laughter. "They are going to look. You might as well get used to it. I mean, you are in a car with the most attractive Cullen."

"Don't get too cocky," she warned, still a pink flush on her face. "Can we change the subject?"

"What do you want to know?" He pulled left out of the school and began racing down the road. "Ask me anything."

She paused for a moment and bit her lip. "I know nothing about you, and you know just about everything important about me. So tell me about your life."

"Which life?" he said playfully, changing gears.

"Both."

"Well, I was born in Tennessee in 1915 and I was changed in '35 -"

"God, you're old," she blurted out, unable to control herself. "Like, I knew you were old, but not _that_ old."

Emmett laughed loudly, the melodic noise filling her ears. "I never said I was a spring chicken. But like I was saying… I had a bit of a reckless youth. I loved to flirt, gamble, and drink, although not necessarily in that order."

Alaina's heart skipped a beat, although she wasn't quite sure why. _He would never like you_ , the voice inside her head screamed. _Don't even bother._ She shook her head to disperse the thought. "How did you become a vampire?"

"I was in the woods near my home and a black bear began to maul me. Right before I lost consciousness, I remember seeing what I thought was an angel," he paused. "Rosalie smelled the blood from the attack, found me, and carried me to Carlisle."

A twinge of jealousy pulsed through her system. "So, you and Rosalie…" she trailed off, not really knowing how to ask what she wanted to ask. Emmett nodded in understanding.

"We've always been very close. When someone saves your life, you sort of develop this bond. We thought, at the beginning, we would be together, but we just never clicked in that way," he paused in thought. "Do you believe in soul mates?"

She pondered the question. "I think I do." Over the course of her life, she had fallen for boys and foolishly thought they were her soulmate. Although she had been crushed more than once, she still held on hope that she would find someone.

"Well, I believe in soul mates, but I think you can have more than one kind. She's my best friend. She's more than a sister to me. She's my soulmate. But she's not a romantic soulmate by any stretch of the imagination. We're really close, so most people assume we are together, but that's not true."

A wave of relief washed over Alaina when he finished, but in the back of her mind, she didn't know why. _It's not like he would like you that way, anyway_ her inner voice snarled. _He puts himself around you because he likes the way you smell. Which if you think about it, is pretty creepy. Someone like him could_ never _like someone like you._

A comfortable silence filled the Jeep as Emmett pulled down a hidden driveway. He stopped his car in front a beautiful, modern home. Alaina's jaw dropped.

" _This_ is where you live?!" She said as she tried to take in every detail of their home. The house didn't seem to have actual walls, only giant windows.

Emmett laughed. "Yep! It's the one place we can truly be ourselves. Let's go."

Alaina followed him into the foyer of the house. She glanced excitedly around, trying to take in every exquisite detail.

"Come on," Emmett said, waiting for her a few steps ahead. "You can look around some other time. It's not like this is the only time I'm going to invite you over."

"And what makes you think I'll say yes again?" She prompted, her hands on her hips.

"You will," he said simply, eliciting an eye roll. He waved his hand to beckon her forward.

She followed him into a massive open concept kitchen and her jaw dropped at how expensive everything looked. In an instant, two figures stood in front of Alaina and Emmett with massive smiles on their faces.

"Slow down," Emmett said, grinning. "We have a human in the house now."

"We're sorry dear," the woman said kindly, wrapping her arm around what Alaina assumed was her husband.

"Alaina, these are my adoptive parents, Carlisle and Esme Cullen."

Esme quickly enveloped her into a hug. Even though her skin was ice cold, Alaina could feel the love and motherly warmth in her embrace. All of the Cullens were beautiful, and Esme was no exception. Her long brown hair fell down her shoulders in effortless waves, and she had large golden eyes. "We are so happy to finally meet you."

"Finally?" Alaina questioned, stealing a glance at Emmett. He avoided her eyes.

"Emmett has told us a lot about you. It's nice to know you're on speaking terms," Carlisle said playfully causing Emmett to groan. "Why don't you give Alaina the tour? Dinner won't be ready for another hour or so."

Alaina just then noticed the aroma in the kitchen and the plethora of pots and pans on the stove. "You really don't have to -"

"Emmett told us you would protest," Esme said, beaming at her. "But it's as much for us as it is for you. It's actually the first time we've been able to use the kitchen."

Alaina couldn't hold back a smile. "Well, I definitely appreciate it. Thank you so much. You have a beautiful home."

"It's all Esme," Carlisle said, glancing lovingly at his wife. "She is quite skilled."

"Alright let's go," he said, gently pushing Alaina away from the kitchen. He began to take her room by room, pointing out items from his past. Alaina snorted when she saw the graduation cap collection.

"You're so old," she smirked under her breath.

"I'm immortal," he said, grinning. He slid open a glass door and walked out onto a balcony overlooking the forest. "I am basically the age of a new born baby in eternity years."

"Emmett," Jasper said, seeming to appear out of nowhere. His sudden presence made Alaina jolt. "Sorry Alaina… Emmett, there are some grizzlies not too far from here. I hate to interrupt, but I know how much you love those bears."

He turned to Alaina, trying to gauge her response. "Do you mind? I'll only be gone a few minutes…"

She waved him off. "Make good choices," she said, walking over to the edge of the balcony. "It'll be nice to have a break from you."

Emmett surprised her by giving her a quick hug, lifting her up easily. "Sweet!" He raced after Jasper and out of their home.

Alaina stood on the balcony, leaning comfortably against the railing. She watched Jasper and Emmett play fighting, dust swirling around them as they pushed each other jokingly, but still with a surprising amount of force. Their laughs boomed through the forest, and she couldn't hold back a smile. She had never seen Jasper look so happy before and she was glad he was able to be himself around his family.

"They can be so obnoxious," a clear voice drawled next to her, and Alaina jumped in surprise. Rosalie laughed next to her, her perfectly white teeth gleaming in the sunlight. She had changed into a different outfit after school, and a twinge of unwelcomed jealousy fluttered in Alaina's stomach. _She looks perfect in everything._

"Rosalie, you scared me," Alaina said, trying to catch her breath and will her heart rate to calm down. Rosalie stared at her.

"Well, you're going to have to get used to it," she said simply, shrugging. "I've forgotten what it's like to be around humans outside of school." The sun reappeared from behind a cloud, reflecting off of her porcelain skin, sparking like a diamond. "But I didn't come out here to chat with you about my brothers."

Alaina looked at her, a confused look on her face. Rosalie intimidated her in almost every way: her beauty, her intelligence, her confidence, her relationship with Emmett… so she just stood there, stupidly.

Rosalie sighed. "I want you to know that I do not support my brothers bring humans into our lives. In fact, I'm completely against it," she said cooly, staring hard at Alaina. "You are putting us all in unnecessary danger and I resent the fact that my family has decided that we need to protect you both."

Her heart dropped into her stomach. Rosalie's words stung Alaina to the core. She already felt so out of place in a house full of vampires, but her comments made her want to crawl into a hole and disappear.

"But that being said," she continued without waiting for a reaction. "I like you. I like what you bring out in my best friend. I like that you're not selfish and that you're not annoying. I also respect what you've gone through."

The emotional roller coaster ride that Rosalie was putting Alaina through halted to a stop. She didn't think she was ready to talk to the rest of the Cullen's about that night, but it almost felt like Rosalie was giving her no choice. _Also, remind me to kill Emmett for sharing something i begged him not to._

"They didn't tell me much, just so you know. They respect your privacy and they know that if you want to talk about it, you will," she said. "I need you to know that my story isn't that different from yours. And although it pains me to say this, I'm here for you… and I mean that. No one should ever have to go through what we did."

"Thank you," Alaina said, breathlessly. Expand. "I honestly don't know what to say."

The pair stood there in silence, the only noises now coming from the birds and the breeze, Jasper and Emmett now out of sight. "How did it happen?" she asked quietly, her hair whipping gently around her face. "If you don't want to talk about it, that's fine. It took me decades to be able to talk about mine."

 _Mine._ That simple word held so much more weight than one could ever realize. Rosalie tossed the word around like it was normal - that sexual assault was normal. Maybe because it was, Alaina didn't know. But a deep feeling of anger bubbled up deep in her.

She drew a deep breath and told Rosalie her story...

It was always tradition that after the last show her high school's musical, the upperclassmen would sneak into the school's dance studio to drink for a few hours before the final cast party. This year was no different.

There was a palpable excitement in the air as the students snuck up to the old classroom. The last show went better than anyone could have expected and they were all experiencing an almost high from their amazing performance.

The last senior and junior students made their way to the studio. Bryce, the male lead of the show, pulled out a 24-pack of beer from his backpack. A few jeers and whistles erupted from the students and Bryce passed them out.

Alaina had been looking forward to this night for weeks. She had been a part of her school's musical since she was a freshman and she had moved up the ranks each year. Her first year, she had been a part of the chorus with most of the other freshmen. Last year, she became a more prominent cast member with a few dance solos and even a couple lines, and this year, she was a principal dancer. She was the favorite to win dance captain next year.

Bryce held out a beer to Alaina, a smirk playing on his lips. Alaina hated the taste of beer, and she knew she had to drive herself home. "Come on, Alaina. Don't be a baby." He shoved the beer in her hands. Alaina's nose scrunched up in disgust.

"Aww, come on Alaina. Don't like the taste?" He said, putting his arm around her. Bryce was gorgeous - he had long brown hair that effortlessly fell over his bright blue eyes. His arms were surprisingly muscular and his tall stature was always dressed impeccably. In short, every girl loved him. Alaina was no exception.

"No, it tastes like piss water," Alaina said. Bryce laughed, strengthening his grip around her. "I'll show you how to shotgun a beer. It makes it much easier to swallow." He winked at her and Alaina couldn't help but to flush.

He pulled out his car keys and punctured a hole in the can. "Now," he said, stepping behind her. Alaina could feel his cool, minty breath on her neck. It gave her goosebumps. "When you tip the can up the your lips, crack the top open. It'll release the pressure and it will go down quickly."

Alaina did as she was directed. The golden liquid rushed down her throat. Although she could still taste the beer on her tongue, she knew Bryce was right. This _did_ make the drink easier to handle.

"That's my girl," he said, giving her a quick peck on the cheek. Alaina couldn't help but to gasp, and gingerly touch the spot of his kiss. She tried to avoid the unfriendly gaze that was now radiating from almost all of the female students.

He handed her another beer. "Another?"

Alaina meant to say no, she _tried_ to say no, but "yes" escaped her mouth, almost against her will. Before she knew it, a second beer was in her hands.

"Let's shotgun this one together, babe," Bryce said, linking their arms together. The other boys in the room, undoubtedly starting to feel the buzz from their beer, starting yelling and whistling at him.

"It would be my pleasure," Alaina responded. Following the same process as before, she cracked the top and the beer gushed through her mouth. She finished quickly this time, knowing what to expect. She tossed her can on the ground, beating Bryce.

"Did you really finish that faster than me?" He stated, looking amused. "I'm actually impressed."

The buzz gave Alaina liquid courage and she could feel her guard dropping. "I'm a fast learner," she responded, swaying her hips in a small victory dance. Bryce laughed and wrapped his arms around her. "You better not move your hips like that again. I might not be able to control myself around that."

Alaina flushed and she could feel the heat rising in her body. Music started playing in the studio; on the of senior boys, Ryan, who worked on the sound stage for the musical plugged his iPod into the speakers, The sound carried through the small room, the bass pulsing and vibrating with every beat.

"Save a dance for me," Alaina said, finding her confidence.

"Just one?" He smirked, taking another large sip of his drink,

"Two, max," Alaina responded flirtily, walking away from him to find her friends. Spotting them in the middle of the room, she went over to dance with them.

"Bryce is _totally_ flirting with you!" Her friend Erica whispered excitedly. Alaina stole a glance at him and she felt his gaze on her. He looked her up and down and winked at her.

"You think so?" Alaina asked excitedly, feeling the full buzz of the alcohol in her system. She felt like she was walking on a cloud.

Erica nodded. "Make good choices tonight! Don't do anything I wouldn't do!"

Alaina raised an eyebrow at her friend. "I'm not even going to get into that," she said, laughing. Alaina, Erica, and the rest of her friends continued to dance. The music got progressively louder and the students were getting more and more drunk as the night went on.

"Alright guys, this is the last song before I head off to the cast party," the makeshift DJ Ryan yelled, playing a slower song. Many of the students had already left to go to the official party and the few that were left were getting ready to go.

"So, where is my dance?" Bryce asked, coming up behind her, wrapping his arms around her waist. He placed his chin on her shoulder; he reeked of alcohol.

Alaina turned around and started to dance with them, their bodies close together. They moved effortlessly with the music. Alaina had always been a strong dancer, but she was impressed with Bryce and his rhythm.

"You're a good dancer. I'm disappointed we waited so long to dance," Alaina purred. In response, Bryce pulled her even closer so that they were touching.

"I am too," he said, his hands moving lower on her back. "Just make sure to remember me next year when you're dance captain."

"You really think I'll be chosen for dance captain?" Alaina said, pulling away slightly so she could look at him. She tried to play it cool and not let her excitement reach her voice.

He nodded. "Definitely. Almost all the seniors have their bets on you. Including me. The way you move is -"

"I'm leaving! See you guys soon!" Ryan said, unplugging the sound. The ghost of loud music made Alaina's ears ring and she realized how dizzy she was.

"We better go too," Alaina said, feeling a sense of unease creep up on her. Bryce didn't move, but was looking at her curiously. He moved his face closer to hers.

"But what if I don't want to do yet?"

Alaina frowned. "Well, I want to go so…" She tried to pull away from him, but he gripped her tighter.

"You've been flirting with me all night… I think I've earned a kiss," he said. He pushed his lips roughly against hers. She could taste the stale beer on his lips.

"I - I don't -" she tried to say in between his forceful kissing. "Bryce stop!" She said, trying to push him off.

"Come on, you know you like it," he said, kissing her jawbone and moving his way to her neck. His hands moved to the hem of her shirt and he moved to pull it over her head.

"Bryce… what are you doing?" She said, starting to feel sick to her stomach. His hands on her bare skin was making her flesh crawl.

"Every year, the male lead of the show picks the junior that he thinks is going to be dance captain," he started, his hands pushing her shirt up. "And they have a little fun before the last party."

"Bryce, I do _not_ want to do this," she said strongly, but he wasn't listening. He was much stronger than she was and he forced her shirt over her head.

"You are so sexy," he said, his voice forceful and even hungry. He started to take his belt off.

"I'm leaving," Alaina said shakily, trying to grab her shirt. Bryce moved towards her and grabbed her wrist. Alaina flinched from his tight grip.

"Don't be like that, baby. No one ever says no," he said, pushing her against the mirror that was on one wall of the studio. "Besides. I know you want me. You've been trying to flirt with me all of musical and you wouldn't have worn this short of skirt if you weren't asking for it."

"Bryce, please… no," she said, her eyes starting to tear up. "Let me go."

"You're going to like this," he said, ignoring her. He pulled her skirt off…

"And now," Alaina finished, her voice shaky and her cheeks wet with tears, "I have to face him in court two weeks from now back in Detroit."

"I hope he rots in hell for when he did to you," she said, venom dripping in her voice. She suddenly turned on her heel and stormed back into her house, snapping a quick "move" before shutting the door behind her.

Alaina turned around to find Emmett standing a few steps behind her, his face washed with anger and sadness.

"Rosalie doesn't know how to handle anger very well," he lamented, a glimpse of fury flashing through his own eyes.

"How much did you hear?" she asked quietly, looking at her shoes. Although she wanted Emmett to know what happened, she didn't want to tell him this way.

"Enough," he sighed, closing the gap between them. And once again, like the day before, Alaina found herself wrapped tightly in the arms of Emmett Cullen, praying he would never let go.

Alaina fell asleep that night easily, and slept more soundly than she had in months. She moved to Forks to escape her reality, and she expected a miserable, lonely place. But not only did she find a best friend and a new home, she found a new family, one that she knew that would protect her at all costs.


	11. Chapter Eleven

"You're late," Alaina quipped with annoyance, emphasizing every word. She stood in front of Emmett Cullen's red Jeep with her arms crossed in front of her chest and her eyebrows raised.

"I'm literally two minutes later than normal babe," Emmett responded, his head hanging out the window and a goofy grin plastered on his face. "I, uhh, had a date with a grizzly bear."

She rolled her eyes in response and hopped into the Jeep. "You _do_ know how many different ways I can take that, right?" She said, clicking her seatbelt harness into place. "And don't call me babe."

"You know you like it," Emmett smirked. He pulled out of her driveway and gave a polite wave to her parents that were no doubt watching from inside the living room.

And she _did_ like it. She liked every moment she got to spend with Emmett - every morning driving to school, every afternoon driving from school, even the gym class she used to physically dread. She never thought (in a million years) that when she was finally in the groove of being in a new place, that her day would revolve around Emmett.

She absentmindedly picked at the skin around her nail and the Jeep zoomed towards the school. Placing her head on the cool window of the car, she allowed her mind to wander to the conversation she had with her mother the previous night.

 _"We should talk," her mother said seriously. Alaina, who was seated on the family room couch, closed the book she was reading and looked at her mother nervously. No good conversation ever started with that phrase. But when she met her mother's eyes, they shone playfully back at her._

 _"What's up?" she asked, her brow furrowed in confusion._

 _"So, it's sort of impossible not to notice a giant tree trunk of a guy coming to pick you up every morning for the past few weeks."_

 _Alaina waited for her to go on, but her mother just looked at her expectantly. "He's just a friend from school. Bella is dating his brother, so since I spend so much time with Bella, I have to spend a lot of time around Emmett."_ Well, _she thought,_ most of that was true.

 _"Uh huh," her mom said, both of eyebrows still raised, waiting for an explanation._

 _"Mom," she groaned. "He's just a guy from school who is my friend right now, okay? Just because he happens to be attractive does not mean I'm attracted_ to _him!"_

 _"So you're saying you don't have a crush on him? Because you definitely have a crush on him. Don't lie to your mother."_

"Are you alive?" Emmett voice boomed, shaking her out of her day dream. "I mean, I know you are because I can hear your heart racing like you just ran a marathon... but we are at school and I wasn't going to let you day dream in my Jeep at day."

Alaina nodded, feeling extremely dumb. She got out of the Jeep and she felt her mind wander again, with Emmett happily chatting next to her, barely registering that she wasn't paying attention to him. She knew deep down that she had feelings for him... feelings that were more than just friends. But she tried so desperately not to let them surface. Someone like Emmett would never like someone like her. Someone so imperfect. Someone used. Someone incredibly broken.

She could feel her heart sinking as she walked down the hall with him. _It will never be more than this_ she thought sadly as she turned into Mrs. Crawford's English class, waving goodbye to Emmett, forcing a smile.

"Come in, come in," Mrs. Crawford said, grabbing Alaina gently by the shoulder and steering her dramatically towards her seat. "Today we are doing something very, very exciting!" The class couldn't help but to groan. Mrs. Crawford's idea of fun couldn't have been more different that Alaina's class.

"Simmer down," she said, grabbing a pile of papers from her desk. "We are going to do group work today, and to get your creative minds warmed up, I want all of you to find a space in the school to work!"

"So you basically just want your classroom to yourself?" Jessica asked innocently, and the class snickered.

"I'm choosing to ignore your negative energy today, Ms. Stanley!" She said in a high pitched voice as she began passing out the worksheet to her students. "Now partner up and get working! Everything will be due by the end of the day today, on my desk."

The second after Mrs. Crawford finished her directions, the whole room seemed to erupt in chaos with students trying to find a partner. Jessica whipped around in her desk and quickly blurted out, "Alaina! You're with me!"

"Umm," Alaina said quickly, not expecting Jessica's outburst. Alaina wanted to get her work done, which meant she wanted anyone other than Jessica as a partner.

"Sorry Jessica," Jasper said smoothly, grabbing Alaina's book off of her desk. "Alaina and I talked earlier and we already decided we were going to work together."

Alaina's jaw dropped due to his lie, but she quickly recovered. "Yeah, I'm so sorry Jess!" Jasper was already halfway to the door by the time Alaina finished her sentence.

"Yeah, okay, cool!" Jessica responded in fake cheeriness and she wildly looked around the room trying to find a new partner. Alaina stood up from her desk and walked as quickly as she could to catch up with Jasper, but he was waiting for her just outside of the door.

"Thank you," she said quietly, in obvious relief.

Jasper chuckled and nodded his head. "I wanted to work with you," he said, his Southern twang just peeking through his words. "Let's head to the library."

"Sounds good to me," Alaina said, turning on her heel to follow him towards the library. They walked in silence and Alaina's mind involuntarily wandered off to this morning with Emmett. She was trying incredibly hard to not let her thoughts about him and about the relationship she didn't think would ever happen affect her, but even she could admit she was doing a really poor job of that.

"Are you okay?" He asked as they walked down the hallway together, his voice suddenly sounding very serious. She never realized how tall he was in comparison to her, and she felt dwarfed by his presence. Clutching her English book closer to her chest, she picked up her pace, hoping Jasper wouldn't notice how uncomfortable she was.

"I'm fine. Nothing wrong with me. Happy as a clam!" she said with as much enthusiasm as she could muster. They reached the door of the library, Jasper opened the door for her, and they walked into the quiet work space. The pair sat down across from each other at a small table in the corner of the library.

"I can tell you're lying. You know that, right? You don't feel happy at all," Jasper said, staring at her intently. "Why are you so downcast?"

"Downcast is a great word by the way," Alaina said, opening up her English book and pulling out the worksheet that they were to complete on _Beloved._ "You should use it more often."

In what felt like a millisecond, Alaina's book and papers were taken from her and now lay in front of Jasper. "We can finish the assignment in two minutes. You're more important."

" _Don't do that here!_ " she hissed, nervously glancing around to see if anyone had noticed his speed. She breathed a sigh of relief when they were still the only two in the work space.

"Did Emmett do something?"

"No, Emmett didn't do anything," she muttered, wishing Jasper realized that _was_ the problem. Alaina's feelings for Emmett were becoming stronger seemingly by the second, and she knew that nothing would ever happen between the two of them. The issue was that her heart refused to listen to her brain and she could feel in the depths of her soul that she would end up heartbroken.

"Because if he _did_ do something -" Jasper started, looking at her seriously, but Alaina cut him off.

"He didn't do anything Jasper. I promise you that. I guess I'm just stressed about the court date. It's coming up soon." Jasper stared at her intently, studying her. He nodded, hesitantly accepting her answer. A wave of relief suddenly washed over her. "Thanks," she said quietly.

"Anytime," he said, flashing her a brilliant smile. He handed her worksheet back to her and they began to work on their assignment, finishing easily.

The rest of the day went as normal as a day could go in the rainy town of Forks. She indulged Mike's many chirps in biology, shot free throws against Emmett in gym (and lost terribly, much to her chagrin - volleyball was definitely her sport), and made it through French with Jessica babbling about prom for the umpteenth time. Slamming her locker door shut, she signed in audible relief for making it through another day. She began walking towards the door that led to the parking lot, knowing Emmett would be waiting for her there, but before she could reach the handle she heard someone yelling her name.

"Alaina! Hold up!" Bella said, weaving through the river of students. "Oh my God, we have so much to talk about."

Alaina couldn't help but engulf Bella in a hug. "I feel like we haven't spoken in _ages_ ," she said, which was barely an exaggeration. Bella and Edward were officially dating and were still in the honeymoon phase, which meant the two girls couldn't be attached to the hip any longer, but Alaina didn't mind. Although jealousy bubbled up in her stomach every once and awhile, she was very happy for her best friend.

"We have a bit to catch up on...," Bella said cautiously, opening up the door. A gust of wind hit the the two girls, blowing their hair fiercely back. "Looks like there's a storm coming," she said absentmindedly.

"Well, Emmett's Jeep has it's top down and I'd rather not get sopping wet. Want to come over and we can talk?"

"Pizza?" Bella said with a smile, pulling her keys out of her bag.

"Obviously," Alaina said, throwing the hood of her jacket over her long brown hair.

"I'm going to call Charlie and tell him where I'm going," Bella said, unlocking her phone. "You should probably tell Emmett that I'm taking you home."

"Good call," she responded, turning on her heel and walking towards the familiar red Jeep. Emmett was leaning cooly against the car, waiting for her. When they locked eyes, he gave her a grin.

"I can smell you from across the parking lot when it's windy, ya know," he said when she got close enough.

"I'm not sure if I'm supposed to be flattered or weirded out," she said slowly, trying not to laugh. "But hey, I came over here to let you know I didn't need a ride home today. Bella's going to take me home and we've going to have 'girl time,'" she said, giving air quotes.

He frowned. "I don't like the idea of Bella driving through a storm that's going to be here any minute now in that steel death trap."

"When did you get so protective?" She asked, eying him. She was taken aback by the frown that was plastered on his typically smiling face. "Actually, don't answer that. I'll be fine. I'll see you tomorrow morning?"

She didn't wait for an answer and turned around to head back to Bella's truck. She silently pleaded that Emmett couldn't hear her heart, once again, beating out of her chest. But it was comforting, in a way, to know that he was protective over her, even if the protection was unneeded.

As she weaved in and out of the parked cards and students walking out of school, she felt her cell phone buzz in her pocket. Pulling it out, she saw that the text was from Emmett: _Text me when you get home. I don't trust that death trap._

 _k dad_ , she responded sarcastically, rolling her eyes. She quickly walked over to Bella who was waiting in her truck. She made eye contact with her friend through the rear view mirror and the truck revved to life. Alaina reached the truck, opened the door, and slid in to sit next to her friend. "So, tell me _everything._ "

"You first," Bella said, turning on to the main road.

"Yeah right," Alaina scoffed. "I leave you alone for all of five minutes and you and Edward are dating and I'm left in the dust. Are you happy with him? Is he treating you okay?"

"I'm sorry Alaina," Bella said, a sudden sadness to her voice. "You're right. I feel like we've lost touch because of Edward and I'm sorry I let a boy get in the way of our friendship."

Alaina turned to look at her, a confused look in her eyes. "I was joking, Bells. I just feel like I've only heard updates about you from Jessica. So I'm guessing the story she told me about you two skipping school and eloping in Mexico are false?" She asked, trying to break the sudden tension between the two friends.

Bella couldn't help but to burst out in laughter. "Unfortunately, they aren't true," she said, turning down Alaina's street. "And to answer your questions, yes, I am very happy and yes, he's treating me well. Honestly, that's about as interesting as it gets." Bella pulled into Alaina's driveway and killed the engine in the truck. She went to open her door, but Alaina stopped her.

"Hey, umm, before we head inside, I just want you to know that... That I know what you know," Alaina said awkwardly, hoping she wasn't being too cryptic. She knew that Bella knew about what the Cullens were, but she wasn't sure that Bella was aware that Alaina knew as well.

Bella bit her lip and shrugged. "Know what?" She asked innocently and Alaina rolled her eyes.

"You know _exactly_ what I'm talking about. Emmett told me. So I just want to make sure we are on the same page..."

"But," she said, hysteria creeping into her normally calm voice. "What if we are thinking about two different things -"

"Bella, the Cullens are all vampires," she said rolling her eyes, cutting her off. "I just don't want to dance around the fact that we now surround ourselves with very attractive monsters."

Bella inhaled sharply but then looked relaxed. "I'm so glad Emmett told you. I didn't want it to feel like I was keeping a massive secret from you."

"I understand," Alaina said, opening the door. "Now let's get some pizza."

The two girls walked up to Alaina's house and into the living room. Her mother was seated on the couch, her glasses perched on her strong nose, reading over what seemed like a novel's worth of paperwork. "Hello girls!" She said warmly when she noticed them come in. She stood up an enveloped Bella in a hug. "It's so good to see you again Bella!"

"It's great to see you too, Mrs. Pawlowska," Bella said smiling, returning the hug.

"Mom," Alaina said, taking off her shoes. "Can Bella stay for dinner? And a follow up question... can we order pizza?"

"Bella's family," her mom said warmly, causing Bella to beam, "and family doesn't need to ask to stay for dinner. And yes, we can get pizza if you order it. The menu is on the fridge and my wallet is on the kitchen table."

"Be right back!" Alaina said. She quickly went to the kitchen and scanned the pizza menu. Deciding what she wanted. She called the local joint, ordered, and pulled a twenty out of her mom's purse. She went back out to the living room to find her mother and Bella in a deep conversation.

"Sorry to interrupt," she said, handing the money to her mom, "But it's time for me to catch up with Bella. Pizza should be here in an hour."

Tugging on Bella's hand, she pulled her upstairs to her room and shut the door behind her. They both flopped on Alaina's bed, their backpacks long forgotten downstairs. "What were you and my mom gossiping about?" she asked, grabbing a pillow to rest her head on.

"You, actually," Bella said, a smirk playing beneath her lips. "Well, more specifically, you and Emmett."

"What about Emmett!" she blurted without thinking. She could feel her pulse quicken just by the mentioning of his name and she silently cursed. _We just talked about this in the morning_ she thought to herself. _You can't fall for him._ "I mean, what about Emmett?" She said again, trying to sound less intense, but Bella saw right through her.

"Oh come on, Alaina," she said with her eyebrows raised. "She asked me if you two were secretly dating. I said no, but honestly, I'm not too sure."

Alaina sighed and bit her lip, a habit she was quickly picking up from Bella. "No, we aren't dating."

"Really?" Bella asked, a small hint of surprise in her voice. "It sure looks like you two are dating."

"We definitely aren't dating," Alaina said, not even bothering to hide the sadness in her voice. "We will never date."

"Why do you say that? Have you talked to him? Do you like him?"

"What I say in the room stays in this room," Alaina said seriously, sitting up on the bed, "Right? No sharing with Edward, Alice, or anyone, right?"

"Of course," Bella said. "Scout's honor."

"Were you even ever a girl scout-" Alaina started, but stopped when she saw the look Bella gave her that screamed 'don't stall.' "Nevermind."

Alaina ran her long fingers through her corse brown hair and sighed deeply. She stared down at her hands that were playing idly with the pillow that was now on her lap. "Of course I have feelings for Emmett," she said quietly, avoiding eye contact with Bella. "Now that I know he's not a total asshole, I'm really drawn to him. He's clever, and he's funny, and he's surprisingly smart. I love every single second I spend with him."

"And have you told him any of this?" Bella asked gently.

Alaina locked eyes with her. "Of course not! He doesn't feel the same way about me and he never will. Guys like him and girls like me... we just don't mesh."

"I don't understand what you mean," Bella said, confused. "I see the way he looks at you. To me, it looks like he likes you... that he likes you a lot."

Alaina laughed bitterly. "He doesn't, okay? I just don't want to talk about this anymore. It's making me sad," she said, feeling unwelcome tears beginning to well up behind her eyes. "Let's talk about your vampire boy."

"Well, turns out he's been watching me sleep for the past few months..."


	12. Chapter Twelve

Alaina was cuddled up in her bed, blankets held tightly around her body. Although her alarm wasn't set to go off for another hour, she was wide awake, staring blankly around her room. Thinking about how her life was no more than a few months ago, she couldn't believe how much everything has changed. She felt, for the first time since she could remember, _happy_ … and the thought that feeling could come crashing down any moment was keeping her from falling back asleep.

The court date was looming and every free moment her mother had was spent with the lawyer going over notes and statements. Alaina was grateful that her mother was taking over as much as she could so it wouldn't burden her daughter until it absolutely had to. Alaina tried to keep it in the back of her mind and only worry about it when she needed to.

She was so lucky to have Bella. Even in Detroit she never had a friend that was as close as they were. She didn't even think of her as a friend; they were more like sisters. She was also doing better in school than she ever had before (except biology) and much to her surprise, she was developing a social like with her other friends at school and Emmett.

As her mind often did, her thoughts drifted to Emmett and a familiar rush of emotion swept through her, but she quickly brushed it off. She remember the day before that Emmett wanted her to come over after school. She groaned, realizing that she forgot to ask her mom last night. She knew her mother would already be awake, so she begrudgingly rolled out of bed and walked to her mothers room. She held her ear up to the door to listen if she was truly awake. Hearing her mom rummaging around, she opened the door and walked in.

"Mom?" Alaina asked, closing the door behind her. Her mother was making the bed as her father was already at work on the new interstate project. A look of concern washed over her.

"Are you okay, sweetie?" She asked, finishing the bed and taking a seat on the edge. Alaina normally had to be woken up several times before she got out of bed, so seeing her at this hour was cause for worry.

"I'm fine, mom. I just woke up early," she said. "I forgot to ask you something yesterday. Emmett wants me to come over after school. Can I?"

"Of course you can," her mom said. Alaina smiled and turned to leave but her mother stopped her. "Not so fast. Take a seat," she interjected, patting the space next to her. "You've been spending a lot of time with this boy. Is there anything you aren't telling me?"

Alaina bit her lip. She knew where this was going. "No, mom, he's just my friend." Her mom raised her eyebrow, so Alaina continued. "I swear. We just click, that's all. If anything was happening you know I'd tell you."

"I know," her mom admitted. "But I can't help but notice that you act differently with him. I can tell you like him. Am I wrong?"

Alaina hesitated, but knew she had to tell her mom the truth. "Of course I do, mom. I like him _so_ much it's actually kind of annoying."

"I remember that feeling. Those are always the best kind of crushes," her mom laughed. "The way he looks at you I think he may like you too. Why don't you tell him how you feel?"

"He doesn't like me mom," Alaina said sadly, shrugging her shoulders. "He's literally perfect. I know guys like that don't like girls like me."

"Alaina," her mom said seriously, wrapping her arm around her daughter. "I know why you said that, but you're not right. Yes, I will admit, you look different than the other girls around here. Your hair is darker. Your eyes are deeper. Your hips are fuller. But that doesn't make you any less of a women. I know this is easier said than done, but comparing yourself to other women gets you nowhere, and everyone spends way too much doing it. Try to feel comfortable in your own skin and everything will start falling into place."

Alaina let that sink in. It was one of those moments where you know your mom is right, but just because she's right, doesn't mean you can actually believe it. "It's about that time. I'm going to start getting ready for school."

"I have the day off, so I'm going to stay up here and get some work done. I'll see you tonight. Don't stay out past midnight, please." She gave her daughter a hug.

"Midnight? Wow, mom. Really letting go of the reins here," Alaina teased, getting off the bed.

"It's Friday," her mom said, sticking out her tongue playfully at her daughter. "I can try to be the cool mom on Fridays."

Alaina laughed and headed to her room to get ready. Before changing out of her pajamas, she picked up her phone to text Emmett. Even though it was very early, she knew she wouldn't wake him up (couldn't would probably be the better word).

 _Mom said yes about coming over. Are you picking me up today or do I have to catch the bus?_

She put her phone down and quickly changed her clothes. Before she could even make her bed, her phone was already buzzing with a new text message.

 _I always pick you up. I'll see you in an hour. Curfew?_

Alaina couldn't help but smile. Emmett has been taking her to school for the past few weeks now, but she loved hearing him say yes. In a weird way it almost made her feel special.

 _Midnight. But that's way past my bedtime so don't think I'm actually going to stay over that long._

The rest of her morning seemed to fly by and before she knew it, she was at school. She wanted to talk to Bella, per usual, but her miserable grade in Biology made lunch a standard date with Mr. Molina. Any class she had with Bella was also with Edward, and even though she knew Edward could read her mind, she didn't want to talk to her about Emmett in front of his brother.

As quickly as the day started, the final bell rang throughout the school. Alaina quickly walked to her locker to grab her backpack and walked out of the school to the parking lot.

It was always easy to spot Emmett in the crowd. He almost towered over every one of her classmates, and also having a cherry red jeep helped. Walking over to Emmett in the parking lot, she could see a goofy grin plastered on his face. She tossed her backpack in the back seat and climbed into his Jeep. "What are you in such a good mood for?"

Emmett turned on his Jeep, revving it to life. "I'm always in a good mood."

"Oh, you are not. Don't flatter yourself Cullen," she said cheekily as they made their way out of the parking lot.

"Ouch," he said, placing his hand on his heart. "That hurt, Detroit. That hurt real bad."

She laughed and looked over to him. "You deserved it."

"I probably did."

Emmett turned on the radio as they sped a little too quickly to the Cullen home. When they pulled up the the home, Alaina noticed the lack of cars normally cluttered throughout the driveway. "Is no one else home?"

Emmett shrugged innocently. "Guess not. We can hang out upstairs until they get here."

Alaina furrowed her brow in confusion, but decided not to press it. As much as she hated to admit it, she reveled in any time that she got to spend alone with him. She followed him upstairs on to the balcony, walking over to the edge and looked over to their massive property.

The two of them stood in a comfortable silence, watching the wind blow through the trees. Although Alaina couldn't see them, she could hear birds chirping comfortably from above her and the calming rustle of foliage from the animals skirting around the Cullen's property.

A cold spring breeze blew through the air, causing a shiver to run up Alaina's spine. Before Alaina knew what was happening Emmett was gone and them immediately returned with a blanket that he draped over her shoulders, causing her to jump in surprise. She didn't like to be touched without warning after Bryce, and Emmett's sudden touch caused her to jump.

"I'm sorry," he said apologetically, "I'm just not used to humans around the house. I'll try to slow down."

She shook her head. "You didn't scare me with your speed. I just don't like to be touched," she said quietly, embarrassed that the soft brush of a hand would cause such pain to return to her heart.

A flash of anger passed through his eyes, but he could tell Alaina didn't want to talk about him, so he wasn't going to push it just yet. "Well," he said slowly, a bit of awkwardness in his normally strong, confident voice. "When I want to touch you in the future, do you want me to ask?"

Alaina could tell that he was being sincere, but she was still confused at his question. "I mean, I'm not sure what type of 'touching' you think is going to happen, but I trust you enough that you don't have to ask. Just don't go all vampire-speed on me if you can help it."

He took a cautious step towards her and wrapped his strong arm around her broad shoulders. "So you're okay with this?"

Alaina's heartbeat starting racing as if she just was just sprinting and she knew Emmett would be able to hear the loudness of the beat, but she tried to play it cool. "I didn't realize you were so affectionate."

"I'm only affectionate to people I like," he said, gripping her a little tighter, gently running his hand up and down her arm to try to warm her up. And just as quick as her heart started beating, it felt as if it was now in her stomach with disappointment. She knew she needed to cut the tension that was forming between them for her own sake.

"Well," she said suddenly, taking a step away from him causing his brow to raise in confusion, "we don't want to give everyone at school the wrong impression now do we?"

He stared at her, his golden eyes unblinking. "What do you mean, the wrong impression? Have I don't something wrong?"

"Of course you haven't," she said, exasperated. "I mean, you're loud, cocky, annoying… but besides that, you're basically perfect. But you can't say things like that to me anymore. It hurts too much."

"Wait, Alaina. I don't understand what you're asking me to do," he said, genuine confusion on his chiseled features. He scanned her wildly as if trying to read her.

Alaina paused and bit her lip, feeling tears welling up behind her eyes. She tried willing them to stop, but she felt a tear escape, falling down her cheek. She turned around to face the opposite direction, wrapping the blanket tighter around her body. "You can't say things like 'I'm only affection to people I like,' around me, Emmett. It just hurts, okay?"

"Why does that hurt you?" Emmett said, appearing in front of her. "I meant everything I said. I never say _anything_ that I don't mean."

"You didn't!" she yelled, the tears now freely flowing down her flushed cheeks. She just couldn't hold it in any longer "You don't like me in the way that I like you!"

Emmett locked eyes with Alaina and she was surprised to find anger staring back at her. "How do you feel about me, then? Because I thought we were on the same page here. Do you think that I hang out with a human for my health? Do you think I risk my life and my family's lives for a human I didn't have feelings for? That I didn't care about you more than anything?"

"I don't know why you do what you do Emmett," she said between sobs, staring hard at the ground. "People like you don't like people like me!"

Emmett firmly placed a hand on her chin and met her eyes. "How can you possibly think that, Alaina," he growled, the normally happy go lucky Emmett, gone. "Why can't you believe me?! Do you realize when those creeps were coming on to you and Bella that I almost killed them? That I almost couldn't control myself? How couldn't I want someone like you!"

"I'm broken!" She screamed, now pacing around him recklessly. "I'm used. I'm fat. Who would want someone like that." She stopped pacing and stared hard at him. "No one would," she spat, throwing the blanket off of her.

Emmett paused, taking in her words, but began to walk slowly towards her. He looked terrifyingly dangerous, and Alaina was paralyzed with fear, her feet rooted on the ground. " _I_ want you, Alaina," he said huskily, closing the gap between them. His cold lips carefully grazed hers, and his large hands slowly made their way to rest on her cheeks. "I've wanted you from the first moment I saw you. What else can I do to make you believe me?"

"Just keep on doing what you're doing and I'm sure I'll come around soon," she said, choosing to ignore the voice inside her head that still thought this was too good to be true, and kissed him again.


	13. Chapter Thirteen

Everything changed after the kiss. The more Alaina tried to stop falling for Emmett, the faster, and harder she fell. Even when Alaina's life seemed out of control, Emmett was the constant that helped her through. Though their relationship was new, it was strong and real, almost scarily so. Even her parents noticed that their relationship was intense.

One day after school, her father took her aside to ask how Emmett was treating her. She was confused, so her dad elaborated. "Sometimes I catch him looking at you so intensely I feel like he's about to take a bullet for you. Is he pressuring you to do anything you don't want to, or you're not ready to do?"

Alaina smiled at the memory. Her father meant well, but Emmett was the one who was restrained. Emmett was helping her love her body again after going through something that made her used and violated. He helped her feel empowered and beautiful. But he exercised extreme self control, almost annoyingly so.

With Alaina's new relationship with Emmett, new relationships with his family members bloomed. She began looking forward to her classes with Jasper, even though he didn't say much. She learned the he could influence the emotions of those around him, so she couldn't help but to enjoy when he calmed her. She even liked the brief moments she got to share with Rosalie (Bella enjoyed them too, as she thought the more time Rosalie and Alaina spent together, the less time she could be mean to Bella).

Even though things seemed to be going well, Alaina's sexual assault case loomed darkly over her head, and it was starting to affect her relationships with her friends and Emmett. A cloud seemed be looming darker and darker around Alaina the closer the date came, and it was hard to hide it from the people she cared about most.

"Alaina!" She heard Bella hiss, breaking her out of her thoughts. She looked apologetically over at her friend. "Have you heard anything I've been saying for the last 5 minutes?"

"Sorry Bella," she said with a sad smile. "I just have a lot on my mind right now with everything going on."

Bella paused and bit her lip before speaking. "You know," she said slowly, "I don't really want to go to Biology today."

Alaina stopped suddenly and raised her eyebrows at her friend. "Are you insane? You can't skip - You _love_ bio."

"Right, but _you_ don't," she said, lacing her arm with Alaina's. "There's no harm in skipping every once in a while. And with Emmett and Edward, I feel like we haven't had time to really talk in weeks." Bella stopped when she reached the classroom door. "So?"

"Edward is going to blame me for this, you know," Alaina grumbled and walked past the classroom. The two girls walked outside towards the football field. The almost constant rain had ceased and blanket the sky with a cool gray. They walked on the slippery grass to the bleachers, brushed off as much residual rain as they could, and sad down next to each other.

"So," she said, looking pointedly at Alaina. "You said you had a lot of your mind… so talk."

Alaina shrugged. "There's just been a lot going on lately with... " she paused, trying to find the right words, "with everything. I don't know. It's nothing I can't handle, it's just a lot at once."

Bella nodded in understanding. "I know, and like I said before, I feel like we haven't had a chance to properly talk in awhile. But I feel like you've been holding some things in and it's important to get them out."

She furrowed her brow. "What are you talking about?"

"Well, I know your court date is coming up…"

Alaina groaned. "Everyone wants to always talk about that!" She yelled, startling her friend. "Has anyone ever thought to ask if I even wanted to talk about it? The whole situation sucks and I hate being reminded of it every over day."

"I know," she responded gently. "But you tend to shut people out and hold everything in, so I think that you should talk about it, even if it makes you uncomfortable. If you really don't want to, I'll respect that, but you're my best friend, so I need you to know I'm there for you."

"I _don't_ want to talk about it Bella," she snapped. "I don't want to talk about it with you or anyone."

Bella nodded slowly, letting Alaina fume. She could feel her face burning with anger, but her heart stung with guilt. Bella was just trying to help, and deep down, Alaina knew she needed to talk about it. The more she tried to pretend this time in her life was normal, she knew it wasn't.

"I'm sorry Bells," she said, breaking the silence. Her voice broke involuntarily and before she could stop herself, she could feel her eyes welling up with tears. She willed them to stop, but when she blinked, the tears streamed down her face. "I just want this to be over with so I can move on with my life here. I feel there is a part of me still stuck in the midwest. When we spend time together or when I'm with Emmett, it's almost like I don't allow myself to fully be happy, because whenever I _am_ happy, something bad happens."

"I don't know how you feel," Bella said after a moment, pulling her jacket tight to her chest. "But Alaina, you're like a sister to me. I know you want to, but please don't shut me out. I'm here for you. Emmett is too. All of the Cullens are. Please let us be there for you."

Still silently crying, she rested her head on Bella's shoulder as the watched the wind rustle the leaves of the trees. "There was something I wanted to ask you, though," Bella said breaking the silence.

Alaina could tell by her tone this was serious. She lifted up her head to look at her. "Of course."

Bella paused. "Well, I wanted to ask if you wanted me to come with you to Michigan with you for support. I know you're leaving in a few days so it's last minute, but I already asked my Dad and your parents and if you are okay with it, they are okay with it."

Alaina was taken aback. Bella was a kind person, this she knew, but she never expected her to ask something like this. Although her first instinct was to say no, she knew that she needed her best friend with her. That even if the entire thing went up in flames, Bella would be right next to her. Overcome with emotions, she enveloped Bella into a hug, and both girls knew the answer was yes.

The end of the day came as quickly as it started with Bella and Alaina talking at their lockers, waiting for Edward and Emmett to pick them up. The Cullens invited them over after school, and with the day that the two girls had, the answer was an obvious yes.

Alaina checked her watch. "They sure are taking their time, aren't they?"

"Can I walk with you to Emmett's car?" Rosalie said out of nowhere, coming up behind Alaina, startling her. Even though she was getting used to being surrounded by vampires, they still could scare the living daylights out of her. Alaina made brief eye contact with Bella before nodding. She closed her locker and turned on her heel. Putting on her backpack, she followed Rosalie who was already walking towards the school entrance.

"I heard Bella is going with you to your hearing," Rosalie said evenly as they walked towards the parking lot.

Alaina nodded. "News travels fast," she responded, uncertain as to why Rosalie was bringing this up. "She offered to come with me and I really don't want to be alone. Well, alone with my parents."

"Edward told me. I asked Emmett what you would think if I offered to come," she said, "but he said I would probably lose my self-control when I saw that disgusting human staring back at you in court." Her voice was full of malice, but Alaina could tell that this was Rosalie's way of telling Alaina that she cared about her.

Without thinking twice, Alaina walked over to Rosalie and enveloped her into a hug. Her icy frame went rigid, but within moments, Alaina could feel the cold arms wrapping around her shoulders.

"Thank you, Rose," she said gently, using the nickname that Emmett calls her. Stepping away from her, Alaina could see the coldness behind Rosalie's eyes melting. "I know I'm not your favorite person, but please know that I truly appreciate everything you have done to support me over the last few months. From sharing your own story to watching out for me when I first met Emmett, you know I'll never be able to make it up to you."

"That's the first time I think I've seen Rose ever smile at school. Good job, Detroit!" Emmett's voice boomed through the parking lot, and a burst of annoyance shot through her.

As they got settling in his Jeep, Alaina shot him a deadly look. "We almost had a moment! You ruined it!"

Emmett laughed. "Even though Rose will never admit it, she likes you."

"She only likes me more than Bella," Alaina scowled.

"True," Emmett admitted. "But with Rosalie, you have to take what you can get."

The ride was spent like most of their other afternoon rides: Emmett took the long way home, driving just wildly enough to scare Alaina every few moments. Alaina would always talk about how her day went and share any embarrassing moments his siblings did in class so he would be able to pick fun of them later. It was their routine and to be frank, Alaina was falling in love with it.

Reaching the beautiful house that Emmett called home, the pair walked into the house, greeted Carlisle and Esme, and immediately went up to Emmett's room. His bedroom left much to be desired; compared to his siblings, his room was definitely the messiest. Although it wasn't quite teenage boy messy, more often than not, Alaina had to step over clothes, video games, and various other possessions to get to her favorite spot on Emmett's couch.

Like the other members of his clan, none of them had beds in their bedroom because they simply did not need them. But after they started dating, Emmett brought in a couch to make their time together a little more comfortable. Well, Emmett asked Esme to buy a couch was more accurate.

His view overlooked the vast forest that surrounded their home; Alaina could stare out the window for hours. But more often than not, they would end up testing Emmett's self control, his hands quickly running through Alaina's hair and her legs wrapped around his.

Emmett confessed to Alaina early on that he was worried that he would hurt her when they kissed, so he would constantly have to slow Alaina down in the moment. He had a surprising amount of control over his vampire instincts, but since he was so strong, one wrong move could literally kill her… but Alaina didn't care. All that was on her mind when his lips were on hers was how to take his shirt off.

A loud knock on the door caused the pair to quickly break apart. "Baseball soon!" Alice's voice came through the door and Emmett jumped off the couch.

"Hell yeah! Let's go downstairs with the others!"

Alaina nodded, but was confused. _Since when did vampires like baseball?_

Walking downstairs, she saw the rest of the Cullens in baseball garb, and even Bella had on a baseball hat. She smiled and gave her a small wave when she saw her. After a moment, Bella pointed at her lips, causing Alaina to check her own face. She could feel her pink chapstick on her chin from her moments with Emmett before. She quickly wiped off her chin to try to hide the evidence.

"Are you going to be playing with us, Alaina?" Alice asked kindly when the reached the living room. Her pixie features looked even smaller than normal with the baseball cap covering her hair.

"I'm down to play! Whose team am I on? Not yours, I hope," Alaina said playfully to Emmett, poking him gently on the chest. A flash of emotion rushed through his eyes that she couldn't quite read.

"Sorry sweetheart, but I can't let you play," he shrugged, wrapping his cold arm around her shoulders. She huffed and snaked away from him.

"And why is that?" She asked, one eyebrow raised.

"Have you forgotten how weak you are compared to me?" Emmett flexed his muscles, causing her to roll her eyes.

"Oh my gosh, I'm not weak!" Alaina responded in annoyance, pushing Emmett. He didn't budge which caused him to roar with laughter. "Point taken. I could just be the catcher. I could totally do that."

"There's no way I'm letting you be on the receiving end of one of Alice's fastballs. They sting _my_ hand. They'd _break_ yours."

"Bella is playing and we _both_ know I'm far more coordinated than she is!" She growled, her irritation growing by the second. She detested being told what to do and she could feel her stubbornness boiling on the surface. "No offence, Bells," she adding, catching the eye of her best friend. She was relieved to find her laughing.

"None taken," she said, smiling. "You're not wrong."

"If Edward wants Bella to play, that's his prerogative."

"But-"

"Do you want a baseball through your skull, babe? Because this is how you get a baseball through your skull."

"Fine…" she said slowly, deciding not to push it any further as she could feel that she wasn't going to win this round. "I need to go home pack for Michigan anyway. But you don't need to be a dick about it. And don't call me babe," she said bitterly, crossing her arms against her chest.

"Well, excuse me for not wanting to turn America's pastime into an extended scene from Saw."

'You're an asshole. You know that, right?"

"I do know that. But I'm _your_ asshole."

"Oh my God," Alaina said, smacking him on the arm. "Please _never_ say that again."

"Emmett, sweetheard, are you done arguing?" Esme said as she came into the living room. "If Alaina isn't going to play, you should probably take her home. We don't want her caught in the storm."

As if on cue, a distant rumble of thunder boomed in the distance, and the vampires whipped their heads towards the direction of the noise. "That's probably a good idea," Alaina said, grabbing her jacket. "Have a fun game, everyone."

After she pulled on her jacket, she found herself in a strong embrace. "If we don't see you before you leave for Michigan, please know that we love you and are thinking about you. Please keep us all updated and if there is anything that any of of can do, please don't hesitate. You're family now, and we take care of each other," Esme said, pulling away from the hug.

Alaina could feel her chest tighten and she could only nod weakly in response. Everything seemed to be happening so fast, but she couldn't contain the overwhelming emotion of feeling apart of a family, even if they were technically a family of monsters.

"Get her home safe," Carlisle added to Emmet, patting him on the shoulder in a fatherly fashion. They locked eyes for a moment as they seemed to share a silent moment. Emmett nodded and started walking towards the front door. He lightly placed his hand on the small of her back, guiding her to come with her. A shiver of longing went up her spine, but she shook it off.

The drive back to her home was silent. Alaina rested her head on the cool glass of his Jeep, watching the blur of the trees rush past her view. Closing her eyes, she felt herself starting to drift off to sleep, but was soon awoken with the sound of the engine dying.

"Mornin' sleeping beauty," Emmett whispered in her ear as her eyes fluttered open.

"Sorry," she said under her breath as she unbuckled herself, stifling a yawn. "Make sure your team wins." She went to open the door of the car but Emmett stopped her.

"Hey," he said quietly, his eyes burning into hers. "Are you okay? Do you … do you need me here while you get ready to leave? I don't know how much help I'd be, but if you need me I'll -"

"Emmett," she smiled, a warmth spreading through her. "When you're not being an asshole, you can be really sweet. But no, I'll be fine. I need to be alone anyways for a while to collect my thoughts. Text me after the game though. Maybe I'll let you keep me company then."

"I will definitely do that, babe," he said, his voice low, husky. He carefully, placed his hand on Alaina's cheek, guiding her to him.

"Don't call me babe -" she began to say, but was cut off. He closed the gap, while his cool lips hungrily kissed hers. She could feel that his motions were careful and calculated, trying desperately not to lose control, but Alaina was more worried about her own self-control.

She reluctantly pulled away. "I'll see you tonight," she said, sliding out of the car. As her feet hit the ground, she realized that she had been holding her breath and she shakily exhaled.

"Stupid hormones," she muttered as she opened up the door to her house, knowing that Emmett was watching her every step, the exact same longing pulsing through his body.


End file.
